About the Dean
Patrice Rankine has been Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences since June, 2016. He initiated the school’s first strategic plan, called, “Conceptualizing Arts & Sciences at Thirty,” which culminates in the school’s 30thanniversary in 2021. The plan centers on arts and sciences as a “community of learners.” Through the university’s general education curriculum, all students at UR take courses from arts & sciences professors, putting the school at the heart of the educational experience.
Every year, at Dean Rankine’s urging, students who declare majors in A&S are celebrated at the school’s honors convocation. The community of learners that is A&S includes our world-renowned, award-winning faculty. Part of the strategic plan has been to enhance student-faculty collaboration, with an emphasis on outcomes. Dean Rankine’s innovations have included career-focused programming, such as a cohort-based, project-oriented “A&S Next,” where students have the opportunity to tackle real-life issues, which have included urban redevelopment, biotechnology and innovation, and arts in the city.
Dean Rankine is a classics professor, having won teaching awards, honors, and grants; and an accomplished scholar who has published three books and dozens of articles.
For the past three years, the A&S Dean’s Office has been analyzing our budgets, and modeling labor and other expenses for next 5-10 years. In the fall of 2017, Dean Rankine hired Surabhi Vittal, who worked diligently to model and communicate effective stewardship across A&S.
Over the past two years we have provided annual A&S budget updates to:
- Provost’s office and the EVP/COO’s office
- Faculty at large (A&S retreats)
- Chairs and Program Coordinators (budget, overview of financial terms, & budget responsibilities)
- Academic Council (endowed funds and restricted funds education)
- Administrative Coordinators (budget, overview of financial terms, & responsibilities)
This year, we are educating one of the newest A&S committees, the Budget, Priorities, and Resources Committee (BPRC), with budget terms and a model. We believe that efficient stewards are educated ones.
In collaboration with the Alumni & Career Services, the A&S Dean’s Office began planning for our signature event. A&S Next is our cohort-based, project-oriented competition among students to “seek solutions to contemporary issues.” We engage alumni to partner with faculty to guide students through their projects and “pitch proposals.” For 2020, the project topics are: Technology and Innovation; Sustainability and the Environment; Public Health; Arts, Creativity, and Culture; and The 21st Century Citizen.
One of the benchmarks in President Crutcher’s Making Excellence Inclusive report is that we become a community where all members can thrive. To that end, A&S started the academic year laying a solid foundation for training that will prepare students, faculty, and staff from all backgrounds to thrive and truly become an inclusive intercultural community.
The Dean and the Assistant Dean for Diversity, Inclusivity, and Thriving, Dr. Carthene Bazemore-Walker, rolled out training modules for A&S leadership at all levels: the T&P committee, chairs and program coordinators, and all committee members conducting searches for new faculty. This fall, HR launched a voluntary, implicit bias training module, “Conducting an Equitable Search Process.”
The A&S community is continuting to grow and become prepared to lead with efforts around thriving and inclusion.
Arts & Sciences fosters a community of learners who thrive by questioning, knowing, and acting. A&S prepares our students to be committed lifelong learners who challenge societal and intellectual barriers, who provide ethical leadership, and who lead sustainable and meaningful lives.
As we look towards our thirtieth anniversary in 2021, Concept 30 casts a vision for our shared future.
In A&S, we know that our students and faculty are already making incredible strides in the world and living purposeful lives. Faculty, staff, student, and alumni accomplishments are regularly highlighted through our website, as well as our monthly newsletter Dean's Digest.
August 20, 2020: 2020 State of the School Address
August 21, 2018: 2018 State of the School Address
August 31, 2017: 2017 State of the School Address
August 17, 2016: University of Richmond Colloquy Address
