Dear Student,
We are very happy to announce that Aaron Parayno, Director of the Asian American Center, will soon become the Associate Dean of Student Inclusive Excellence for the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. Aaron will start in this new role on August 1, 2025.
As the Associate Dean of the Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion, Aaron will supervise the eight centers and lead strategic initiatives to enhance support for all students, undergraduate and graduate, on the Medford and SMFA campuses around identity development, community building, and student success. In addition, he will serve as a representative on the University-wide Inclusive Excellence Cabinet chaired by the Office of Institutional Inclusive Excellence.
Aaron has spent his career supporting Asian American students, centering their needs, and advocating for the community. Aaron joined Tufts in 2019 as the Director of the Asian American Center, after holding several roles at the Asian American Center at Northeastern University. Originally from Queens, New York, he is a graduate of Boston College where he received a bachelor's degree in History and a master's degree in Higher Education Administration. He obtained his PhD in Higher Education from the University of Massachusetts Boston. His dissertation research focused on how Asian American panethnic support structures respond to the needs of Pilipina/x/o American students.
Please join us in congratulating Aaron on his new position.
We would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Jayanthi Mistry, Professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study & Human Development, for serving as the interim Associate Dean of Student Diversity, Inclusion, and Success for the past year. Jayanthi has been instrumental in assessing the current and future needs of the division during this interim period and led the search for a permanent Associate Dean. Jayanthi will return to her teaching and research activities this fall.
Sincerely,
Bárbara M. Brizuela
Dean, School of Arts and Sciences
Professor, Department of Education
Kyongbum Lee
Dean, School of Engineering
Karol Family Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
