When Edward Berger replaced Provost James Wright as dean of the faculty last July, his work became his existence.
"It is totally absorbing of all your time, at least for the first seven months," Berger said. "I dream the job, I eat the job."
Berger's responsibilities include recruiting new faculty and making promotion, tenure and re-appointment decisions.
He is a member of just about all high-profile campus committees and has recently been chosen to chair the dean of the College search committee.
All issues regarding faculty, curriculum, policies and operations of the College "come though this office at some point," Berger said.
Berger laughed and said he has "poorly" handled the stress involved with his current job.
"I live now a life of scheduled appointments and multi-tasking," he said.
Working as dean of the faculty has forced him to "visualize the College in the broadest possible way," he said.
Berger would like to see the College strengthen its interdisciplinary studies, citing cognitive neuroscience and environmental studies as "models for the future."
"They are areas that require interaction between previously independent disciplines," he said.
He also wants to increase interaction between students and faculty. He would like to see all undergraduates engaging in "scholarly activity where you work one-on-one with a faculty mentor," he said.
Berger came to the College as a genetics professor 22 years ago. He has twice chaired the biology department and became dean of graduate studies four years ago.
Wright said he thinks Berger has made a good effort to avoid looking at the College solely from a science professor's point of view. "He's trying hard to represent the concerns and interests of all of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences," he said.
"I think that the range of activities that he's been involved with before he became dean [of the faculty] ... gave him a particularly strong background to take on the responsibilities as dean," Wright continued.
Berger's job as dean of the faculty has become his main focus, but he still teaches two courses per year. He also maintains an active research lab.
He attended Stuyvesant High School and Hunter College -- both in New York City -- so moving to Hanover was a change for him.
But Berger saw Hanover as an ideal place for raising his four children, who are now all adults.
"If I were ever at a point where I weren't so busy, I might feel a bit nostalgic about city life," Berger said.
He said he does not try to plan his career too far in advance, and has no current plans to follow the trend of recent resignations at the College.
Berger said he has seen much change for the better during his tenure at the College.
The intellectual life, alcohol situation and facilities have all "improved dramatically over the years," he said.
When Berger ventures out of the Hanover area, he often scuba dives as a way of relieving stress.
"It's literally being in another world where the forces of gravity aren't working on you in anyway, where you are in a liquid rather than a gaseous medium," he said as the tropical fish screen saver made bubbling noises on the computer in his office. "And except for the fish crunching on the coral, there is this absolute silence."
He sees himself as an amateur marine biologist, and has dreamt of creating a company called "Sea-Pharms" which would develop pharmaceuticals from ocean life.
Berger also enjoys reading and watching movies. "I tend to be sort of a techno-nut, so anything having to do with aliens or viruses -- that sort of theme always fascinates me," he said.
