PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — David Lindstrom, a distinguished faculty member and academic leader with more than 30 years of service to Brown, will serve as the next dean of Brown University’s Graduate School, effective Jan. 1, 2026.

As dean, Lindstrom will work to assure the excellence of Brown’s doctoral and master of fine arts programs, promote the interests of graduate students across campus and establish priorities for advancing doctoral education in the context of the University’s mission of research and education.

In a Monday, Dec. 29, message to the Brown community announcing the appointment, Provost Francis J. Doyle III lauded Lindstrom’s accomplished career and deep understanding of the important role graduate education plays in Brown’s academic mission.

“David is an accomplished teacher, researcher and mentor, and an innovative academic leader with experience creating new graduate programs and stewarding their growth,” Doyle said. “His diverse array of academic experiences and his track record as an inclusive and respectful leader have prepared him to support the success of Brown’s graduate students as they create new knowledge, address societal challenges, and become the academic and industry leaders of tomorrow.”

In leading all aspects of the Graduate School — which engages and supports approximately 1,700 students enrolled in 50 doctoral and MFA programs across Brown’s departments, schools and centers — Lindstrom will lead the implementation of a strategic vision for the school, provide financial oversight and planning, oversee graduate student admission and funding, and lead the school’s staff. He will report directly to the provost and serve as a member of the President’s Cabinet and President’s Executive Committee.

“Doctoral education is central to Brown’s research and training mission,” Lindstrom said. “Doctoral students are integral to faculty research, and they are the future of higher education. My top priorities for the Graduate School are to promote academic excellence, support the placement of graduates in the top research universities, and  ensure the recruitment of a talented community of students from a wealth of backgrounds and perspectives.”

Lindstrom joined the Brown faculty as an assistant professor of sociology in 1994. During his time on campus, he has twice served as chair of the Department of Sociology, along with three terms as the department’s director of graduate studies. As chair, he created an undergraduate concentration in social analysis and research and a master’s program in social data analytics. Both programs have grown steadily and now account for nearly 40% of graduating students in sociology. He is also the founding director of the department’s migration studies certificate program.

In addition to his department leadership, Lindstrom was director of Brown’s Center for Latin American Studies from 2001 to 2004, and served as associate dean of academic affairs in the Graduate School from 2007 to 2010.

His research examines topics ranging from the causes and consequences of migration in economically developing societies, to adolescent health and sexual behavior, to the changing dynamics of reproductive health and behavior. He has received grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Compton Foundation and RAND. He is currently director and principal investigator of the NIH-funded Mesoamerican Migration Project, which involves fielding survey interviews in 36 locations across Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Lindstrom has advised 55 master’s theses and doctoral dissertations and 41 senior theses, and his doctoral students have progressed to tenured faculty and research positions in the United States and abroad.

Doyle said the members of the dean’s search committee were impressed with Lindstrom’s understanding of the graduate education landscape, his deep commitment to students, and his emphasis on supporting graduate students in pursuing both academic and non-academic career paths after graduation.

“David’s experience leading large, international research collaborations gives him a strong understanding of how to facilitate impactful educational experiences for students,” Doyle said. “Combined with his experience as a collaborative leader and problem-solver, I am confident in his ability to work with partners across campus to enhance doctoral education at Brown.”

Lindstrom will take the helm of the Graduate School at a time when graduate education in the U.S. faces particular challenges, ranging from declines in federal research funding to job markets that are not universally strong across all academic disciplines. He says he is poised to treat those challenges as opportunities to strengthen doctoral education at Brown.

“Graduate education is under pressure from a number of directions and must adapt to a changing world,” Lindstrom said. “Challenges offer opportunities for innovation and mission-focus that can strengthen, rather than weaken, institutions. I have strived to be an innovator and program-builder throughout my career and look forward to playing a role in building the future of graduate education at Brown.”

Lindstrom succeeds Thomas A. (“Tal”) Lewis, who served as Graduate School dean from 2022 to 2025. Deputy Provost Janet Blume, who will retire after an accomplished career at the end of the 2025-26 academic year, has served as interim dean since August.