SAS resignation spurs change

The unfortunate illness of a former associate dean for the humanities and social sciences has had a dramatic effect on the Office of the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Following the resignation of Eugene Narmour after a minor stroke in early January, new SAS Dean Samuel Preston took the opportunity to divide Narmour's duties among the four associate deans in his office, in response to complaints that Narmour's responsibilities were too broad. Narmour, who is recovering quickly, will continue on as a faculty member in the Music Department. The new system of organization will allow each of the 17 departments that were under Narmour' supervision to receive more attention, Preston said. The reorganization began with the appointment of English Professor Rebecca Bushnell as Narmour's replacement. Bushnell will hold the position of associate dean for arts and letters, rather than Narmour's position as Associate Dean of the Humanities. The change in title reflects the fact that Bushnell will only oversee ten departments, rather than 17. Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Walter Licht, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, College Dean Richard Beeman and David Balamuth, who is currently associate dean for the natural sciences, will divide the remaining seven departments. According to Preston, Narmour's responsibilities were simply too much for one person to handle. "Gene had a sense, which I shared, that the job was too big for one person, and that it should be pared down a little bit," Preston said. He emphasized that the reorganization will allow the four associate deans to exercise direct control over each department. Bushnell will retain control over the Classical Studies, English, Folklore and Folklife, German, History of Art, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Romance Languages and Slavic Languages departments. Preston said Bushnell is the ideal person for the newly created position. "Rebecca will be just a terrific spokesperson for the arts and literature and language component of what we do," he said. "So it will allow her, I think, to concentrate a little bit more on things that really need to be well-represented in the dean's office." And Bushnell said she is happy with Preston's reorganization of the office and is excited about her new position. "One of the things that made this job so attractive to me is that I will be dealing with the departments that I know best," she said. "I think that it's a really great idea." Licht, a History professor, will assume most of the remaining burden, adding the departments of Anthropology, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, History, Sociology and South Asia Regional Studies to his current responsibilities, which include graduate studies and research centers. "These five departments are very close to Walter's area of expertise anyway," Preston said. Licht said the decision to give him the additional five departments was logical because he is a historian whose work has a "social science bend." Although Licht seemed pleased with his new responsibilities, he noted that they place larger demands on his time. "I've just increased my job, which is quite a job already," Licht said. "It's going to be a stretch, but it really makes sense. It just wouldn't have been appropriate to add another dean to the office." Beeman, who is also a History professor, will be responsible for the Political Science Department. Preston said Beeman was a logical choice to oversee the department, as he is already the chairperson of the University's task force to recruit senior faculty members in the Political Science Department. Beeman agreed that Preston's restructuring efforts made sense. "Though it might seem messy in terms of bureaucratic form, I think that it is an excellent matching of departments and personnel to expertise," he said. Finally, Balamuth, a Physics professor, will add oversight of the Linguistics Department to his current workload. Balamuth was unavailable for comment yesterday. Preston added that he is "really enthusiastic about the new division, even though it's only been in place for two days."