LETTER FROM THE DEAN

February 15, 2008

Dear SEAS Community Members,

I write to tell you that I have decided to step down as Dean of SEAS effective September 1, 2008. I plan to return to full-time teaching and research in the fall of 2009 after a year's sabbatical leave.

I have come to the above decision after considerable personal reflection over the past few months. As you may recall, I had originally intended to step down in 2006, but decided at that time to carry on for a while longer to see things through during the leadership transitions that were then occurring. That has given me the immense privilege of seeing the “Division” transformed into the “School.” After a decade as dean, I believe now is an appropriate time for change, both for me personally and for the future of Science and Engineering at Harvard. As you know, Engineering and Applied Sciences has been renewed and greatly strengthened over the last 10 years. As a new administration takes hold both in FAS and the University, I believe SEAS needs a Dean who can make a long term commitment to take it to a level of prominence like the other great Schools of Engineering and of Harvard.

As you also know, for quite some time I have been increasingly interested in the interfaces of science, technology and society as well as public policy matters connected with leadership of scientific institutions and the processes of innovation and technology translation. I believe the University, with its broad strengths in FAS and the professional schools, has a unique environment for fostering scholarship in this area. I would like to spend the next few years to further these interests and to be actively engaged in teaching broader courses to Harvard College students. I also expect to work more closely with my graduate students and post-docs on nanostructure physics.

As I look backward and forward, I am most grateful for the wonderful support I have received from the SEAS community at all levels ever since I came here. I want to express my deep appreciation to our excellent support and administrative staff. Your spirit of service has played a key role in creating a stronger and more vital academic community. I am also grateful for the continued generosity of our donors and corporate sponsors and the enthusiasm and participation of our alumni.

Especially, I want to thank the faculty for your tremendous colleagueship over the last 10 years. You deserve special credit for the recent emergence of SEAS as a very special, open, welcoming place with a remarkable sense of community and collegiality. I look forward to the next few years as I move more closely into your ranks.

Thank you to all my SEAS colleagues for the wonderful opportunity to serve among you.

Best,

Venky