After twenty years at BU (and more than five as an associate dean), Professor of International Relations and Political Science Strom Thacker has accepted the position of Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Union College in New York. CAS News spoke with him about his new position and what he will miss most about his time here.
Tell us a little about your responsibilities in your new position at Union College.
I’ll be the college’s chief academic officer. The formal (and overly long) title is Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty. It’s roughly the liberal arts college equivalent of a provost and involves oversight and management of all academic programs and faculty, the academic budget, the library, the registrar, information technology, and athletics.
What does it mean to you to have this opportunity to take on a leadership role in determining the academic direction of a liberal arts college?
It’s a really exciting opportunity for me. I went to a liberal arts college (Pomona) as an undergraduate and have always seen the liberal arts as part of my core academic, professional and personal identity, even during my work at BU and in CAS, which is, of course, the liberal arts college of the university. Union is particularly strong in the STEM fields—it was the first liberal arts college with an engineering program—which offers a chance to help build on something that most comprehensive liberal arts colleges don’t have. In today’s climate, it’s a real advantage to be able to offer students a chance to combine engineering with the arts, humanities, social sciences, math, computer science and natural sciences. I think it’s a real sweet spot for the liberal arts world.
What will you miss most about CAS?
The people! The fantastic faculty colleagues, students, and staff I have worked with the past twenty years. As appealing as this new opportunity is, it’s also hard to leave all this behind.
What are the administrative achievements you are most proud of at CAS (as associate dean or otherwise)?
It was such a pleasure to work as part of an amazing team in and across CAS. It seemed like each day we saw something new, and it was tremendously satisfying to be able to plan and act strategically while also problem-solving our way through new challenges together on a regular basis. But the single thing I will miss the most, by far, is the recruitment of a new generation of truly outstanding and increasingly diverse faculty. The faculty members we’ve been fortunate enough to bring to BU these past few years have amazed me with their innovative, inspired teaching and advising; path-breaking, world-class scholarship; and generous citizenship. Helping to bring these folks to BU has been its own reward.
Are there any other particular memories or achievements at CAS that stand out to you?
There is just so much that it’s hard to even start a list. It seems like just yesterday that I was interviewing for a position in the then-IR Department. Now we are a school, and so much else has changed in CAS and at BU, almost all of it for the better. It’s been a pleasure and an honor to have been a part of it.