Dear Members of the Williams Community:
I write as the second half of the spring semester is upon us to share news about the associate deanship in the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (OIDEI). I’m thrilled to announce that Christopher Goh, Professor of Chemistry, will serve as the next Associate Dean for Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He will assume the role on August 1, 2022.
Professor Goh joined the Williams College community in 2007 as Visiting Professor of Chemistry. His research has focused on the design of homogeneous catalysts for polymerizations and of mimics of enzymes, and he has co-authored 40 papers and patents in these fields. Professor Goh has served as an advisor to more than two dozen students writing theses and conducting independent study projects; and has mentored more than sixty students as research assistants. His teaching has focused on the introductory chemistry courses, and upper-level electives in inorganic chemistry.
We are excited to leverage Professor Goh’s experience engaging and supporting his faculty colleagues and helping to develop ways to broaden pathways for underrepresented faculty in the STEM+ fields. He was, for several years, faculty fellow of the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the Davis Center; and he has, for years, been faculty director of the Summer Science Program administered by the Office of Pathways for Inclusive Excellence, and as an advisor to student academic affinity groups, including BSTEM, OURSTEM+ and Mosaics. In addition, he has served as a member of the Committee on Educational Policy, Faculty Review Panel, Committee on Academic Standing, Committee on Diversity and Community, Health Professions Advisory Committee, Diversity Action Research Team, Claiming Williams Committee, Davis Peace Prize Committee, and Committee on Undergraduate Life. He has also helped build partnerships with R1 institutions aimed at introducing doctoral scholars to the liberal arts and broadening pathways to and through the academy, especially for faculty and students from groups historically underrepresented in the STEM+ fields.
The associate deanship is a rotating position. As a member of the OIDEI leadership team, Professor Goh will help lead policy and program development and assessment pertaining to faculty recruiting and retention efforts – with an eye towards ensuring the Williams College community is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Please join me in thanking Professor Goh for agreeing to serve in this critical role.
Professor Goh will succeed Jacqueline Hidalgo, Professor of Latina/o/x Studies and Religion, who has served in the role since July 2020. Her accomplishments as associate dean and her staunch commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and racial justice have been essential to furthering initiatives to recruit, develop, and retain a diverse faculty at the college. She has worked tirelessly to elevate the voices of faculty, especially the voices of those often marginalized or underrepresented in the academy. In addition, she helped lead the Committee on Diversity and Community’s interrogation of Williams’s own history and has served as a key partner in deepening the College’s relationship with the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. Professor Hidalgo will conclude her tenure as associate dean in June, and is eager to serve as Faculty Director of the Oakley Center. Please join me in thanking Professor Hidalgo for the essential work she’s done to support our community.
Best,
Leticia Smith-Evans Haynes, JD, PhD
Vice President | Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
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