I am pleased to share that Ethan Pollock, Abbott Gleason University Professor of History and Professor of Slavic Studies, has been appointed Brown’s next Dean of the College, effective July 1, 2025.

Ethan is an exceptionally thoughtful scholar with a deep understanding and appreciation for the College and a commitment to ensuring that students can fully access the singular academic experience that Brown offers. For nearly 20 years, he has embodied Brown’s mission and values through his teaching, research and effective leadership, driven by vision, energy and empathy. His experience as an accomplished educator, researcher, adviser and academic department leader position him for success in this new role.

As dean, Ethan will serve as Brown’s senior officer with oversight of undergraduate programs, whose responsibilities include overseeing the University’s student-centered Open Curriculum, academic advising, study abroad, undergraduate research opportunities and career exploration. He will oversee the undergraduate academic deans and staff responsible for administering instruction and research in support of Brown’s more than 7,200 undergraduate students. In the role, Ethan will report to me and serve as a member of the president’s cabinet, the president’s executive committee and the provost’s leadership group of senior academic deans, which coordinates academic priorities across the University.

Ethan brings phenomenal perspective to this role, and his background and strengths will complement our other senior leaders’ expertise in engineering, biology and medicine, public health and the more quantitative social sciences. Ethan joined the Brown faculty in 2006 and has served as chair of the Department of History since 2020. In that role, he has excelled at serving the different needs of students, faculty and staff, leading one of the largest academic departments at Brown, advancing the curriculum for undergraduate and graduate students and expanding collaborations with other departments, centers and institutes at the University.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Tufts University as well as master’s and Ph.D. degrees in history from the University of California, Berkeley. He spent two years as a U.S. history teacher in Moscow before earning his doctorate and has served as a fellow at George Washington University, Columbia University, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the European University Institute. From 2003 to 2006, he was an assistant professor of history at Syracuse University. At Brown, he has taught courses on Russian and Soviet history, the nuclear age and the Cold War. In 2016, he was presented with the University’s William G. McLoughlin Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Social Sciences. He is the author of two books, a range of scholarly articles and his research and writing have been funded by a wide spectrum of organizations.

Ethan will succeed Professor of Engineering and Physics Rashid Zia, whose instrumental leadership of the College over the last seven years has strengthened Brown’s distinctive approach to academic advising, experiential learning, study abroad, financial support for students and career exploration.

I am incredibly grateful to the students, faculty and staff who served on the search committee. I also deeply appreciate the outpouring of interest in candidacy from many well-qualified members of our faculty, which made the selection process all the more challenging. I look forward to working closely with Ethan to guide and strengthen the academic experience for our undergraduates, and I hope you’ll join me in welcoming him to his new role this summer.