Adam Leibovich, the recently installed dean of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and the College of General Studies, has appointed four new associate deans, including one for a newly created position — the associate dean for equity, faculty recruitment and community engagement.
All four of the new associate deans are current Dietrich faculty members — three from the humanities and one from the natural sciences.
The new position will be filled by Natasha Tokowicz, a professor in the Department of Psychology. Leibovich said in his announcement that Tokowicz will be tasked with making the school more welcoming and helping to increase diversity among faculty, staff and students.
“I want us to be destination workplaces where people can grow, thrive and succeed,” Leibovich said.
Her responsibilities will include hiring faculty, community engagement, and advising and mentoring chairs, directors and other leaders. Tokowicz served as co-chair of the University Senate’s Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Advocacy Committee from 2021-23.
“It is a privilege to join the leadership team in the dean’s office for this new position,” Tokowicz said. “I look forward to collaborating with others to expand the diversity of our faculty, broaden and deepen our community partnerships and build on our recent momentum to increase equitable opportunities in the Dietrich School.”
The other new appointments include:
Associate dean for undergraduate studies and the College of General Studies: Adriana Helbig, associate professor and chair of the Department of Music. Her responsibilities will include undergraduate education, curricular innovation, nontraditional students and online education, and academic student support. Helbig said she will work to “create an environment that allows undergraduates to find their voices and channel their ideas and convictions in ways that empower personal and intellectual growth and contribute to positive social change.”
Associate dean for research and faculty development: Hannah Johnson, professor in the Department of English. Her responsibilities will include faculty research, faculty development and mentoring, and external funding. Johnson said she’s “focused on increasing awareness of resources on campus and collaborating with colleagues across the University to support faculty in doing their best work as researchers and academic professionals. It's an exciting time to be engaged in this work.”
Associate dean for faculty affairs: Todd Reeser, chair of the Department of French and Italian. His responsibilities will include tenure and promotion, as well as departmental strategic review and planning. Reeser, who also was director of the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies from 2013-18, said in the announcement: “I believe that the big questions of our current cultural moment are interdisciplinary by nature and, therefore, interdisciplinarity has never been more crucial than it is today. So, I am excited by the part of my charge that will give me the opportunity to help these programs to continue prospering and to make interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching even more available to the Pitt community broadly.”
Leibovich — who was associate dean for research and faculty development before becoming dean on July 1 and a professor and former chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy —said in his announcement that there are more hires to come.
“We’re also in the process of identifying additional leadership opportunities for faculty — including appointment stream faculty — whether that’s at the assistant dean level or in different advisory positions,” he said. “It’s a priority for me to make our approach to shared governance and decision-making processes as inclusive and representative as we can for the benefit of the Dietrich School and the College of General Studies.”