Kilachand Honors College Leadership Transition
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
and Dr. Beth Loizeaux, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Affairs
Professor Charles Dellheim, who has served as the founding Director of the Kilachand Honors College since 2011 and as the College’s inaugural Arvind and Chandan Nandlal Kilachand Professor, has announced his plans to step down from his administrative position, effective December 31, 2016. Professor Dellheim holds a faculty appointment in the Department of History in the College of Arts & Sciences, where he will return to his teaching and scholarship after a sabbatical.
As Director of the Kilachand Honors College – and its predecessor, the “New College,” founded in 2009 – Professor Dellheim has provided exemplary intellectual leadership in developing and refining a clear vision of the College as an interdisciplinary, liberal arts living-learning community within a major research university. Drawing on the talents of faculty from across the University, he led the design of a rigorous, coherent academic program that spans the four years of a student’s undergraduate education and is interrelated with the student’s studies in one of BU’s ten undergraduate schools or colleges. This ambitious program connects the arts, sciences, and professions, asks students to grapple with open-ended questions, and holds students to the highest standards.
Working in partnership with the schools and colleges, Professor Dellheim successfully created an environment in which the University’s finest faculty teach in small, specially-designed seminars and in innovative team-taught courses. He has recruited talented, ambitious cohorts of students to the Kilachand Honors College and thereby helped to advance the standing of Boston University as a desirable choice for such students. As Director, he was a key contributor to planning the renovation of Shelton Hall into a residence for Kilachand Honors College students. The renamed Kilachand Hall also houses the program offices and classrooms. Students and faculty alike have praised Professor Dellheim’s skill in cultivating a vibrant and engaged community within the College and his personal commitment to each student.
Among the nation’s distinguished scholars of modern European and Jewish cultural history, Professor Dellheim received both his Ph.D. and M.A. in History from Yale University and his B.A. in History and Literature from SUNY Binghamton. He has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Littauer Foundation. Between 2001 and 2009, he served as Chair of BU’s Department of History.
An internal search is planned to identify the next Director of the Kilachand Honors College. A formal position description will be posted and circulated in the coming weeks, with the hope of identifying an incumbent prior to the start of the 2016–2017 academic year.
On behalf of the University community, please join us in thanking Professor Dellheim for his creative leadership of the Kilachand Honors College and his significant contributions to the University, and in wishing him well as he returns to his responsibilities as a member of the faculty.