Bárbara Brizuela Named Dean ad interim of the School of Arts and Sciences

May 7, 2024

Dear Tufts community members,

We write to you to share the news that Bárbara Brizuela will be appointed dean ad interim of the School of Arts and Sciences, effective July 1, 2024.

Since 2022, Bárbara has served as dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where she has led masters and Ph.D. enrollment efforts for Tufts’ largest graduate school, spearheaded the development of the school’s mission and value statement, led program development efforts, launched the Future Leaders Fellows program, redesigned the graduate financial aid process, and served on the university-wide Graduate Education Task Force convened by the Provost’s Office in 2022. She also serves as a dean of academic affairs and oversees the graduate departments and programs within Arts and Sciences.

Before becoming GSAS dean, Bárbara served as an academic dean and an associate dean for diversity and inclusion in the School of Arts and Sciences. A professor in the Department of Education, Bárbara’s current research focuses on children’s learning of elementary mathematics, specifically mathematical representations and early algebraic thinking and is funded by the National Science Foundation. Her main areas of interest are mathematics education, early childhood education, and cognitive development. Bárbara holds a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a master of arts degree in education from Tufts, and degrees (licenciaturas) from the Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Please note that Bárbara will remain in her current role as dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences while she serves as interim dean for Arts and Sciences. Bárbara and the GSAS leadership team will be in touch with their colleagues soon with further information as to how the graduate school will be managed during this time.

We thank Bárbara for taking on this role as we continue the search for a new dean. An update on that search will be shared in the coming weeks.

Kindly join us in welcoming Bárbara as dean ad interim of the School of Arts and Sciences.

Sincerely,

Sunil Kumar
President

Caroline Attardo Genco
Provost and Senior Vice President