Dear NYU Steinhardt Community,
Congratulations on a terrific year! In these past weeks, we’ve celebrated thousands of you, including almost 3,000 graduates at the doctoral, baccalaureate, and valedictory ceremonies. Thank you to all who joined in both the planning and day-of activities. I was honored to join you in these celebrations.
This year our Dorothy Height Distinguished Alumni Award winners showcased the passion and innovation our alumni bring to the world. We are proud to be able to offer an in-depth read on the transformative work each of them spearheads:
We also came together – in person! – to honor our faculty, researchers, administrators, and staff with 67 employees’ years of service milestones and 112 award nominations for Administrators, Staff, and Researchers. We have successfully launched a hybrid work program and I am proud of the flexibility it has provided to Steinhardt staff. Thirty-two children participated in the Steinhardt Take Your Child to Work Day this year. They enjoyed a tour of the Urban Farm Lab, an art therapy activity, and a dance class! Thank you to each and every one for your invaluable contribution to the success of our community.
This year we have spearheaded several important collaborations with other schools across the University. We have pursued cluster hires – one in partnership with the Silver School of Social Work focused on education, mental health, and child welfare, and another with Tandon focused on health equity in rehabilitation science and engineering. We have also brought together faculty and students from across NYU global campuses who are involved in the study and practice of how the arts contribute to our physical, psychological, social, organizational, ecological, and public health through the University-wide Arts & Health @ NYU initiative. We have established and disseminated a call for proposals for an Innovation Fund and I look forward to the good work that comes out of this initiative. With support from the Dean’s Office, the Data for Social Good group has worked to foster interdisciplinary collaboration around the potential for the strong social impact of quantitative data. I look forward to seeing the excellent work this collaborative continues to produce. We have accomplished so much at Steinhardt this year, and I would like to take this opportunity to share some of it with you:
Faculty Development The Office of Faculty Affairs has made significant headway in the realm of faculty development. The Junior Faculty Mentoring Program, in its second year, involved dozens of faculty and senior administrators as mentees, mentors, and presenters on panels. The Office also hosted a dinner for junior faculty and a breakfast for mid-career faculty. These informative gatherings will continue in the years to come. The Clinical Contract Faculty Guidelines are in the final stages of approval, and we are re-introducing and expanding the Contract Faculty Fellowship Program so that faculty may apply each semester to receive a course release and $5K in support of their project proposal.
Diversity, Equity, and Belonging
The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging has developed and is launching in the Fall multiple leadership programs for our community to ensure Steinhardt's leaders reflect our diverse populations. The Office has hosted events to bring our community together, such as our recent BIPOC pop-up, which attracted over 400 people to the “Commons” in the Paulson Center, and was also the first public-facing event in that space. The Office also hosted a very successful Faculty First Look program for 22 doctoral students from around the country. This team will also be taking on oversight of the Scholar-in-Residence program. I am very excited to see what they will do with this opportunity.
Academic Affairs
The Office of Academic Affairs successfully implemented their Steinhardt Online Strategy after individual courses with strong pedagogical rationales were vetted from 10 departments and moved to an online format, which added more flexibility and access for both graduate and undergraduate students. They developed the Departmental Academic Program Review Platform (DAPR), which allows for departmental leadership to make data-informed decisions using integrated data on admissions, enrollment, faculty resources, and departmental and research finances. The DAPR is a truly incredible tool! I would also like to note that we have a very impressive incoming class for next year. Enrollment is robust and I am looking forward to sharing more details about the class profile during the State of the School in the Fall.
Research
The Office of Research provided internal funding to catalyze new research projects and support faculty professional development through School- and center-based programs. They celebrated new awards from the NSF, NIH, NYC Department of Education, William T. Grant Foundation, Spencer Foundation, and many more, including awards for early- and mid-career scholars, interdisciplinary collaborations, and research-practice partnerships. Multiple Steinhardt faculty have been honored with the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in 2023. The Office of Research continues to partner with Academic Operations to incorporate research data in the DAPR, providing department and center leadership with key research metrics. In the year ahead, the Office of Research will pilot a new grant development program for junior faculty, and work to further expand Steinhardt's research impact through strategic communication and partnership.
It is the time of year for the transition of leadership roles, and I want to salute both those who are stepping down for their service as well as those who are stepping into new roles:
After three years of dedicated and steadfast service, LaRue Allen will be stepping down from her position, effective August 31. I am deeply grateful for Dr. Allen’s partnership and expertise over these past years. Her leadership and camaraderie will be sorely missed. I am so pleased to announce that Elisabeth King will assume the position of Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs beginning September 1. I am looking forward to working with Dr. King in her new leadership capacity and am certain that she will excel with this new opportunity.
I would also like to welcome several faculty members into departmental leadership roles. Jennifer Hill, Professor of Applied Statistics, will join Marc Scott, Professor of Applied Statistics, as Co-Chair of the Department of Applied Statistics, Social Science, and Humanities; Tsu-Hsin Howe, Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy, has been reappointed as Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy; Nancy Deihl, Clinical Assistant Professor, has been reappointed as Chair of the Department of Art and Art Professions; and Anil Chacko, Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology, has been appointed as Chair of the Department of Applied Psychology. I appreciate each of them taking on this new important responsibility for the School and their department. On behalf of all of us, I also acknowledge the outstanding service of Ed Seidman who is stepping down as Chair of the Department of Applied Psychology. Please also note that additional departmental leadership appointments are still in progress.
I hope you take time this summer to relax and spend time doing things you love with those you love. I am deeply appreciative of all you do for Steinhardt. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Jack H. Knott
Gale and Ira Drukier Dean
