Beginning Aug. 1, one dean will be temporarily governing both the College of Arts and Letters and Lyman Briggs College. After the reappointment of College of Arts and Letters former dean Karin Wurst to the provost's office, her newly vacated position is now open.
While the university searches nationally for a new dean — a process that could take six to eight months once the school year begins — the acting dean of the College of Arts and Letters will be Elizabeth Simmons, who is the current dean of the Lyman Briggs College.
Simmons said her responsibilities will essentially double during the university's search for a new dean for the College of Arts and Letters and, while she's certainly nervous, she feels more excited than anything else.
"I don't know what's ahead, but it's all in an excited way," Simmons said. "I love working with different people in many different fields. ... It's why I'm at a university and not working at a science lab."
Simmons is no stranger to dividing her time within her work — during the 2013-14 school year, she was an American Council on Education Fellow, where she spent half of every month in the Office of the Provost at Yale University.
During that time, she was still dean of the Lyman Briggs College. However, it was also during that time she brought on two new associate deans to her college. The two associate deans, along with an assistant dean, helped with the workload.
Mark Largent, an associate dean for the Lyman Briggs College, said this won't be as much of a transition for his college as it will the College of Arts and Letters. He added that it's not uncommon for people, especially in the Lyman Briggs College, to play multiple roles in the university.
"Most Lyman Briggs faculty have joint employments with other places," he said. "This is a place where everyone is familiar with playing in two different units. If anyone could do this, they'd come from a place like Lyman Briggs."
Rob LaDuca, another associate dean in the Lyman Briggs College, has worked under Simmons for about 10 years. He joined her staff as an associate dean about a year and a half ago and said his only worry is whether Simmons will have enough time for her family and personal interests outside of work.
However, he said he and the other associate deans will each have a slightly larger role with the staff, and pick up more of the "nitty gritty" details of the job.
"At the moment, the main plan is to get to know the people in (the College of Arts and Letters) and get to know their departments and programs," Simmons said. "We're trying to figure out how we can plan to have them all work together and be ready to welcome the new dean. ... I'd also like to see what exciting new ideas they have, and make progress on those."
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