What might be the university’s next steps? These are big shoes to fill… what kind of person would they be looking for? Some kind of change or someone who can continue the same trajectory?
Dean Boyer is an amazing figure.
I would guess his successor would be to him as Alivisatos is to Zimmer.
The selection of Alivasatos came as a surprise, but he was really hiding in plain sight and he immediately seemed just the right guy for the job. Boyer’s successor will surely be an existing Chicago prof. Almost all deans of the College have been. He or she is therefore also hiding in plain sight. Existing students would know some likely candidates. My choice would be Agnes Callard, a philosophy prof and the creator of “Night Owls”. She’s got a genuine following and is herself a graduate of the College (like Alivasatos). More importantly, she’s a true UChicago-style quirky intellectual. Alivastos and Callard would make a good post-Zimmer-Boyer team.
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I think it was to be expected that the UChicago presidency would go to someone from the outside (it’s always been this way), and I think it’s also to be expected the the College deanship will go to someone on the inside (it’s always been this way). So I think yes, certainly, it’ll be an existing professor. Callard is an interesting choice… she hadn’t come to mind. I was thinking about some of the current deans or deputy deans. For diversity reasons, I’m guessing it’s also possible that they might prefer a woman and/or a person of color, so Callard might have the edge there. But I also wonder if the Dean of the College has to be a full professor before being appointed – in which case Callard wouldn’t work.
I’d look for someone who has assisted Boyer with planning curricula for the College, particularly the Core. During the pandemic webinars, we’ve gotten a glimpse of a few of these individuals, although their names escape me at the moment. Don’t recall whether they were POC or female but that shouldn’t matter as the goal is to appoint the best person for the position. Boyer oversaw an unprecedented transformation and expansion while keeping the College an integral part of the UChicago intellectual community - and that is no small accomplishment. This next dean would need to have ideas on how to move this (now largest) division forward, maintaining or even improving its reputation in comparison to peer schools, without compromising any of what makes it unique and distinct among the top undergraduate programs in the world. Hopefully Boyer has a name or two to recommend.
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ETA to the above post with a few more thoughts:
Major and minor offerings will probably continue to evolve and expand. The College has really worked in the past couple of decades to meet the intellectual needs of the student body. Many graduate with more than one major now and/or several minors. (NB: not even sure the latter was offered back in the day!) Some of this new stuff will be driven by student interest and what other schools are offering; however, UChicago College will want to create its own version that meets their own standards of rigo. While debate can and should be expected, there can be no conflict of philosophy between dean and faculty on this topic. That’s why it makes sense for the dean to come from the faculty, rather than be an outside hire who doesn’t understand or may not appreciate UChicago’s unique focus on the undergraduate program.
Dean Boyer is particularly fond of the Odyssey Scholarship program - this and new initiatives such as Empower will likely need to be a key focus for the new dean.
Obviously the new dean will need to keep an eye on what new plant and amenities can be offered to the undergrads. Hopefully, the long-standing res hall problem was resolved with the opening of the huge Woodlawn Residential Commons, and the new gym and parking lot will soon be constructed on South Campus (haven’t heard otherwise).
And - perhaps most importantly - during the pandemic year we saw how UChicago viewed undergraduate education very differently from peers (this fact can get lost in the recent unexpected but temporary shutdown and move to online due to Omicron). Boyer was instrumental in working to keep the College open and undergrads on campus last academic year. His opening remarks during the webinar announcing this decision were quite memorable. At UChicago, the undergrads are considered to be as important to the community as everyone else - they are not treated, nor are they considered, merely a source of revenue. The new dean will need to foster the same respect and affection for the undergraduates as Boyer obviously had. Those are big shoes to fill.
Clearly there are other responsibilities - budget, infrastructure, etc. - but the above sticks out as fundamental requirements for the new dean (IMO).
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