Forman to leave

By Seth Brown     4/15/10 7:00pm

Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman announced Monday that he will be leaving his position as dean of undergraduates to become the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Emory University, effective July 1. President David Leebron said that a search committee will be formed to find a suitable replacement, with the goal of having the new dean in place by this fall. Forman began teaching at Rice full time in 1987, after receiving his doctoral degree from Harvard University in 1985. He was made a full professor in 1999 and became chair of the Mathematics Department in 2001 and Jones College master in 2002. Forman relinquished his positions as chair and master in order to become the first dean of undergraduates in 2005.

The position was created to serve as a link between student life and academics, and try to create a more holistic experience for undergraduates, Leebron said.

Forman has overseen the creation of a number of new institutions at Rice in his time as dean, including the Center for Civic Engagement, several new minors and a number of new resources to help students deal with stress.

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Associate Dean of Undergraduates Matt Taylor said the closer connection between academics and student life is also thanks to Forman's efforts.

"For the division, the principal legacy is bridging the gap between academic and intellectual life and student services," Taylor said.

The role he has played in assembling those involved with and responsible for student life is his greatest achievement in his time as dean, Forman said. Working with students has been one of his favorite parts of the position.

Forman said one of his regrets was not putting his full support behind the Common Reading program when it was first introduced in 2006. Incoming students were given a number of articles, but none attended the first scheduled discussion and only a few attended a second session.

"I didn't advocate for the program as much as I should have." Forman said. "As a result, the program struggled [in the first year]."

Forman said he had not been looking for another job when he was approached by Emory, but he said he is excited about the opportunity to make an impact on the Emory community.

He said his work there will be more focused on academic issues, unlike the mix between academics and student life that he currently balances. Although his time to work on his research in mathematics has been limited due to his current responsibilities, he said that by being thoughtful and efficient with his time he has nevertheless been able to do some research.

"I miss being as fully engaged in teaching and research as I used to be," Forman said. "[However] I find intensely rewarding those things that now require my attention."

"The position is true to undergraduate life at Rice - Rice undergraduates don't experience education as a distinct set of non-academic activities and classroom activities," Taylor said. "Students really do have a holistic experience."

According to Leebron, Forman's success was due in part to his understanding of Rice.

"[Forman] really did know Rice; students knew that he understood Rice," Leebron said. "He is a very thoughtful person who was able to identify [Rice's] strengths and weaknesses and choose very good people as we expanded."

Former Student Association President Patrick McAnaney said that Forman's insight and efforts deserve respect from the student body.

"I think he's made a really consistent effort to work with students," McAnaney, a Brown College senior, said. "He's had a really good insight into the student body."

As far as the selection of the next dean of undergraduates goes, Taylor said the candidates would preferably know Rice well, be good communicators and have academic experience.

"I could consider an external candidate, [but] it has to be someone who has spent a lot of time with undergraduates in classroom and residential settings," Taylor said. "The dean of undergraduates has to be able to function in a room on par with other deans - has to be a person who understands all aspects of the academic enterprise."

McAnaney said an important aspect to be taken into consideration by the selection committee is that students should feel confident talking to the new dean.

"The most important qualification is the ability to take what students have to say and be willing to take it to the highest level of administration," McAnaney said.

Leebron said that the position required a holistic view of undergraduate education at Rice and that the next dean will need to understand the things that are distinctive about Rice, as well as the university's strengths and weaknesses.

He also said that the next dean will have to be able to deal with the problems that can arise given the number of students enrolled at Rice.

"In that job you have to be a pretty calm person - when you're dealing with a population of more than 3,000 students, there's always going to be a crisis," Leebron said.

Martel College senior Bobby Anderson said he thought Forman did a good job connecting the administration with the average student, and that Forman's successor should be someone from the Rice community.

"They should probably look for someone familiar with what makes Rice unique - it's a position more closely related with Rice's uniqueness than most others," Anderson said.

The search committee for the next dean will include both students and faculty.

"Many of the most rewarding moments as dean were situations when I had the opportunity to work collaboratively with students," Forman said. "Together we accomplished a lot, and future generations of students will benefit a lot from the projects we undertook together.

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