Dear School of Arts and Sciences community, 

As we welcome our students, faculty, and staff back to campus for a new academic year, I want to take a moment to thank all of you for the warm reception I’ve received since starting as dean. 

I am excited to join the University of Rochester to support and amplify all the great work happening across our departments. 

I’m also eager to learn more about the needs and opportunities we have here in the School of Arts and Sciences and to collaborate with each of you in developing a plan to guide our efforts. 

Some of these conversations are already underway, and I want to share a few upcoming opportunities to connect as I learn about your work and our community: 

• Feedback sessions with department chairs: I am midway through a series of meetings with our department chairs, center directors, and program directors to understand the challenges and opportunities we face across departments. These conversations are just the beginning as I seek to understand how I can best support our faculty and staff and I look forward to sharing some of my learnings soon.  
• Department faculty meetings: I will be attending department faculty meetings over the course of this academic year as another opportunity to engage with our faculty, to learn more about the campus, and see your workspaces. 
• Faculty Senate: I am also looking forward to introducing myself alongside other new leaders at the Faculty Senate meeting at 4 p.m. August 29. 
• Office hours: It is important to me that I hear from the full spectrum of stakeholders in our Arts and Sciences community. That is why I am hosting a series of office hours this semester that are open for anyone to engage in important conversations about how I can best support our community. The sessions will be in conference room A in the Humanities Center. All are welcome to attend. Find the schedule here. 
• Monthly staff breakfasts: Our staff members are absolutely critical in the work they do supporting our Arts and Sciences community each and every day. I am looking forward to hearing from them about their experiences and needs as we look at how to best invest in our community. Stay tuned for more details. 
• Student engagement: Students are truly the heart of our community, and I am excited to hear directly from them about their needs on campus. This fall we will be working to set up broader channels of communication with students and to identify opportunities for students to collaborate with school leadership on special projects. I will soon share details. 

Again, I can’t thank you enough for your support in my first few days and convey how grateful I am to lead this tremendous team. 

I hope to see many of you during the upcoming conversations and in the meantime welcome any feedback or suggestions you might have. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time at sasdean@rochester.edu. 

I look forward to our ongoing collaboration. 

Your Dean, 

Nicole