After eight years in office, Dean of the Faculty Elizabeth Smith will step down from her position on Sept. 1 and return to teaching in the biology department, the College announced on Jan. 28.
Smith, who was appointed in 2017 to a five-year term and reappointed in 2022, will leave the role two years before she had been scheduled to depart. Smith is stepping down as the role is transformed to report to the new Dean of Arts and Sciences under the Future of Arts and Sciences project.
Government professor and former associate dean for the social sciences John Carey will serve out the rest of Smith’s term as interim dean, beginning in September. Smith — who declined to comment for this article and directed The Dartmouth to a Jan. 28 email to the Arts and Sciences faculty — wrote in the email that the timing of her exit is the “best for me, Arts and Sciences and Dartmouth.”
“Sometimes the best way to lead is to step away from a leadership role,” Smith wrote.
The Dean of the Faculty currently oversees the faculty and departments in the Arts and Sciences, reporting to the College President. Under the Future of Arts and Sciences project — which the Board of Trustees approved in November 2024 — the Dean of the Faculty will lead one of three divisions within the new undergraduate school of Arts and Sciences and report to its dean, according to past reporting by The Dartmouth.
However, the “core of the role” will stay the same, interim Dean of the Arts and Sciences Nina Pavcnik wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth.
“The Dean of Faculty will continue to be responsible for faculty recruitment, retention and professional development,” Pavcnik wrote. “And faculty will continue to create and govern the curriculum.”
In the meantime, Carey, who served under Smith from 2019 to 2024, wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth that College President Sian Leah Beilock had asked him to take on the interim post. His two-year term will provide time for the new school of Arts and Sciences to get “up and running” and set up “administrative structures” for a permanent dean, he wrote.
“The top priorities are recruitment and retention of the most outstanding teacher-scholars for Dartmouth and support for the faculty who are here,” Carey wrote.
Carey added that he anticipates the search for a permanent dean will be another “top priority” once a permanent Dean of Arts and Sciences is appointed. The permanent Dean of Arts and Sciences will assume leadership of the new school next fall after an international search, The Dartmouth reported in January.
Smith is not the only administrator to step down in anticipation of the new school of Arts and Sciences. Former Dean of the College Scott Brown cited the Future of Arts and Sciences project as a reason for his departure from the College in August 2024, three months before the project was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Economics professor Bruce Sacerdote — who served with Smith on the Committee on Priorities and Committee Advisory to the President — wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth that Smith’s leadership has been an example of “honesty, ethical standards and forthrightness.”
“I greatly admire [Smith’s] courage, her deep sense of fairness and her absolute insistence upon openness of expression and dialogue,” Sacerdote wrote.
Comparative literature and Asian societies, cultures and languages professor Dennis Washburn said he “thinks very highly” of both Carey and Smith, adding that he believes Carey will “continue on in the way that [Smith] has.”
Smith, who is “currently deeply involved” in the implementation process of the Arts and Sciences school, will “continue to provide valuable feedback and advice” as a faculty member, Pavcnik wrote.
“I will work with Dean Smith and Professor Carey to ensure a smooth transition and look forward to collaborating with John and his team,” Pavcnik wrote.
Smith will also continue to serve as the director of academic partnerships and faculty engagement for the Dialogue Project, a Dartmouth Dialogues initiative that she previously co-led with Dialogue Project executive director Kristi Clemens, according to the College’s announcement.
“I very much look forward to continuing my work on the Dialogue Project, seeing the formation of the new school of Arts and Sciences and rejoining my colleagues in Biological Sciences,” Smith wrote.
As the Dean of Faculty role takes on new shape, Washburn said he would like the position’s next appointee to prioritize childcare and housing for faculty, and “strengthening” the College’s humanities programs and “global presence” in South Asia and Africa.
“The first [priority] is work-life balance for the faculty.” Washburn said. “And the second [priority] has to do with a kind of equity in terms of supporting research agenda, whether you’re in the humanities or whether you’re in the sciences.”
Sacerdote noted that the College should “prioritize innovation and productivity in teaching and research.”
“Dartmouth is at an exciting moment of growth and demonstrated leadership within higher education and [Carey] will play a critical role in this journey,” Sacerdote wrote.
Kelsey Wang is a reporter and editor for The Dartmouth from the greater Seattle area, majoring in history and government. Outside of The D, she likes to crochet, do jigsaw puzzles and paint.
