On May 14, College President Sian Leah Beilock announced the appointment of Nina Pavcnik as the inaugural dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, a position established by the Future of Arts and Sciences Project in November 2024 after the Board of Trustees approved the project in October 2024. Pavcnik has served as the interim dean since Jan. 14, 2025.
Her selection follows a nationwide search for a permanent dean, which began in September 2025. The search committee consisted of faculty, staff and students from the School of Arts and Sciences. She will assume her new role on July 1.
Prior to serving as interim dean, Pavcnik co-led the steering committee for the Future of Arts and Sciences Project, which combined the faculty of Arts and Sciences and Division of Student Affairs into a single administrative and budgetary structure. As interim dean, she oversaw implementation of the project and the school through its founding and first year. The Dartmouth sat down with Pavcnik to discuss her work so far with the Future of Arts and Sciences Project and her goals as she transitions into the inaugural role.
What was your reaction to being named the inaugural dean for the School of Arts and Sciences?
NP: I’ve been a faculty member at Dartmouth for 26 years. Dartmouth has been an intellectual home that has given me the opportunity to flourish as a scholar and as a teacher who brings research into the classroom, works with students and engages students in research outside the classroom. It has been an honor, both to co-lead the Future of Arts and Sciences Project that led to the blueprint for the school, to be interim dean of the school and now to be inaugural dean. I look forward to working with faculty, staff and students as the inaugural dean. I am very excited that I was chosen.
What are you most proud of from your work as interim dean, and what are your main goals now?
NP: These are pretty challenging times in higher education. What I’m really proud of is that we have been able to continue to think about how we can best educate students and how we ensure that faculty can continue to do research. Focusing on our core mission is important. My goal as the inaugural dean is to best deliver on our educational mission and research mission going forward.
How has the School of Arts and Sciences changed during your time as interim dean, and what changes are still to come?
NP: During the Future of Arts and Sciences Project, we heard from faculty, students and staff that our advising model could be improved. So, as part of the project, and then as interim dean, I put together a working group that included faculty, student affairs advisors and students to consider the new model for advising. What that will lead to is an advising model that will be embedded in our residential communities, and that will enhance and unify advising between a faculty member, undergraduate deans and undergraduate advisor, with the goal of creating a more navigable system for students to understand the value and breadth of liberal arts education.
In addition to putting together the new model, we already recruited faculty liberal arts advisors, and we are ready to start piloting this new advising system in the fall.
Are there any new priorities or initiatives you’re excited to pursue?
NP: Advising is a good example of an initiative that we are about to launch, and that I look forward to pursuing. But the main goal is to continue to hear from faculty, students and staff on the ideas that they have. Then, the difficult job of the dean is to prioritize those ideas. I look forward to continued collaboration.
In your role as a faculty member and researcher, you worked very closely with students. How do you foresee working with students in your new role?
NP: Both as the former chair of the economics department, as well as the co-lead of the Future and Arts and Sciences Project and as the interim dean, I have continued to interact with students. I think it’s really important to receive input from students and hear how they experience education at Dartmouth.
For example, in my two most recent projects as the interim dean with the Future of Arts and Sciences Project, I have worked with representatives of Dartmouth Student Government to get their input on the project. We received input on the advising model from them, and I have also held office hours with students to hear directly from them and receive their perspective. I expect to do the same in my inaugural role. In fact, I am already scheduled to meet with the incoming president and vice president of Dartmouth Student Government before the end of the term.
How has your academic background influenced the way you think about institutional change and resource allocation, especially with regards to bringing the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in the Division of Student Affairs and their unified administrative and budgetary structure?
NP: Both my background as an economist as well as my background as a faculty member have informed my perspective there. What is important is that we have clear missions and values that guide our decisions. Once we clarify those priorities and goals, we need to align resources with those goals to execute them.
As an economics professor, you worked directly in the classroom with students and were a direct witness to their academic journeys. How has this shaped your perspective in your new role as inaugural dean?
NP: What’s very special about Dartmouth is its tight-knit community where faculty and students work hand-in-hand in learning, discovery and sharing generations of knowledge. I want to ensure that we continue to enhance and build on that experience with this new school so Dartmouth continues to educate lifelong learners and future leaders.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Madeline Kahn Ehrlich '29 is a reporter from upstate New York. She is considering studying English and Public Policy. She enjoys creative writing, art and reading historical fiction.
