Date June 3, 2025
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Graduate School dean Thomas Lewis to depart for academic leadership role at Cornell

A Class of 1990 graduate who joined the Brown faculty in 2007, Lewis has made a lasting impact on graduate education through his thoughtful leadership, collaborative spirit and deep commitment to students.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Thomas A. Lewis, a longtime Brown faculty member who has led the Graduate School since 2022, will step down effective July 31 to become vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School at Cornell University.

Lewis, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown in 1990, will depart after 18 years of service as an academic leader and a religious studies faculty member. In a June 3 campus message sharing the news, Brown Provost Francis J. Doyle III said Lewis has guided meaningful progress across multiple dimensions of graduate education at Brown.

“Tal has made a lasting impact on graduate education through his thoughtful leadership, collaborative spirit and deep commitment to students,” Doyle said. “His vision has been grounded in the understanding that graduate students play an essential role in the life of the University — both as scholars and as teachers — and his work has focused on ensuring their academic, professional and personal success.”

Under Lewis’ leadership, the University bolstered support structures for doctoral and MFA students across more than 50 programs, aligning academic excellence with robust student support and financial planning, Doyle noted. Lewis strengthened relationships across the University, building strong partnerships with faculty in academic units, student organizations and, importantly, at the School of Professional Studies, which oversees Brown’s portfolio of more than 30 master’s programs spanning all disciplines.

As dean, Lewis cultivated a positive relationship with the graduate student union, championed efforts to enhance advising systems and prepare graduates for diverse career paths, and launched initiatives to improve the student experience. Specific initiatives included requiring all graduate programs to formalize advising expectations and handbooks, and the launch of PhD360, a framework that promotes professional development across six areas of impact.

Lewis led efforts to improve the graduate program review process; manage enrollment growth strategically; extend support for students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; and implement new initiatives to support students from a wide diversity of backgrounds. During his term, applications to Brown’s doctoral programs increased by 40%. Doyle noted that throughout his tenure at Brown, Lewis has been both a tireless advocate for graduate education and a visible contributor to the intellectual life of the University through his involvement in the Department of Religious Studies and interdisciplinary areas such as the Cogut Institute for the Humanities.

"When I first arrived at Brown, the Open Curriculum encouraged me to explore the new, take on challenges and look for opportunities for intellectual and personal growth. That ethos has continued to serve as a guide as I’ve had the privilege to work with amazing students, faculty and staff in recent years."

Thomas A. Lewis Dean, Brown University Graduate School
 
Thomas A. Lewis

A proud Brown alumnus, Lewis earned his bachelor of arts in religious studies in 1990 before pursuing a Ph.D. at Stanford. He returned to Brown in 2007 as a faculty member in religious studies, where he taught courses and served as both director of undergraduate studies and director of graduate studies. He served as associate dean of academic affairs in the Graduate School from 2016 to 2022, as well as co-deputy dean. A distinguished scholar in religious ethics and the philosophy of religion in the modern West, he has published three books and numerous articles, and held fellowships at institutions including Princeton University.

As he prepares to transition to Cornell, Lewis said he’ll treasure the interactions with Brown’s deeply dedicated graduate students and the rich intellectual community he’s enjoyed on campus for nearly two decades.

“When I first arrived at Brown, the Open Curriculum encouraged me to explore the new, take on challenges and look for opportunities for intellectual and personal growth,” Lewis said. “That ethos has continued to serve as a guide as I’ve had the privilege to work with amazing students, faculty and staff in recent years. I’m tremendously proud of the strides we’ve made in graduate education, the advancement of our intellectual community and the significant growth in diverse students from around the world who want to do graduate work at Brown.”

In assuming the role of vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School at Cornell, Lewis will be responsible for coordinating graduate education, aligning it with broader academic goals and overseeing 80 advanced degree programs across more than a dozen schools and colleges.

“Cornell is an institution with an impressive history in graduate education at an even larger scale than Brown offers,” he said. “This is an opportunity to work with many schools and disciplines, as well as to contribute to Cornell’s Ithaca campus and growing footprint in New York City. The transition offers a nice combination of continuity — like Brown, Cornell has a culture of interdisciplinarity, access and inclusion in service of academic excellence — combined with a scale that will bring an additional set of opportunities and challenges.”

Doyle noted that Brown will announce plans for interim leadership and the launch of a search for the next dean of the Graduate School in the coming weeks.