Carnegie Mellon University

Dear Colleagues,

By now you have likely seen Fred Gilman’s message that he plans to step down as dean at the end of the academic year. Fred will return to his outstanding career as a physicist and CMU faculty member. He has also agreed to play a special role in continuing to build external support for the college.

I want to begin by offering my gratitude to Fred for more than eight years’ service leading the Mellon College of Science, first on an interim basis, and for the last seven years as dean. His dedication to this critical and challenging work has helped build the foundation for the college’s future growth and success. He recruited outstanding and diverse young faculty, while re-envisioning 21st Century undergraduate science education through the new MCS Core Education. On a personal level, he has been a friend and collaborator to me and to other senior leaders across campus.

This is an important time for the college and the university. The work you do as MCS faculty and staff has always played a central role in shaping a Carnegie Mellon education; increasingly the research undertaken here is part of a larger effort that crosses disciplines, and the collaborations in which you take part lead to significant discoveries and advancement in a variety of fields.

With that in mind, we will undertake an international search to identify the next dean of the college. I have already spoken to MCS department heads and associate deans to solicit their help in creating a search committee. We will also want your help in this search. I will be in touch with you soon to tell you more about the search committee, and about ways in which you can engage with this process.

Next spring we will also invite all of you to take the opportunity to celebrate Fred and his leadership. In the meantime, I hope you will join me in thanking and congratulating him.

Sincerely,

Farnam Jahanian, Provost