Announcing second terms for Professors Gretchen Long and Eiko Maruko Siniawer as dean and provost

Williams faculty, staff and students,

I am delighted to inform you that Frederick Rudolph ’42 – Class of 1965 Professor of American Culture Gretchen Long and Charles R. Keller Professor of History Eiko Maruko Siniawer ’97 have agreed to serve second terms on my senior staff, as dean of the college and provost, respectively. Their new three-year terms will begin on July 1, 2025.

Gretchen and Eiko’s service continues Williams’ distinctive practice of recruiting college leaders from within our faculty for the key roles of provost, dean of the college and dean of the faculty (the latter currently held by Kimberly A. ’96 and Robert R. ’62 Henry Professor of Economics Lara Shore-Sheppard).

As dean of the college, Gretchen guides our efforts to provide holistic support to Williams students. She and her team work in close concert with the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and faculty, staff and student leaders. As a reminder, Gretchen was the first person to take on the dean’s role after we expanded it in 2019 to include oversight of operations formerly overseen by our vice president for campus life. More recently, she has assumed responsibility for managing Williams-Mystic. the Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford (where Gretchen was formerly program director) and Winter Study.

Gretchen’s many contributions as dean include advising the Ad Hoc Working Group on Academic Integrity, the faculty-led working group reviewing our Honor and Discipline policies, and the JA Program Working Group. With the Rice Center for Teaching she convened student focus groups about the role of grades in academic and social life, building on last year’s faculty dinners on the same topic. And she is especially proud of helping bring us the colorful tables and chairs that are now fostering community activity outdoors across campus. She has made many important hires, including key staff in the Dean’s Office, the Winter Study Office, the Chaplains’ team, Campus Life and Housing, among others. She and her team will soon be able to announce the hire of a new permanent director for the Office of Accessible Education, as well. You can learn more about Gretchen’s work on the dean’s website,.

As provost, Eiko is responsible for allocating college resources in ways that support our educational priorities. In conjunction with Vice President for Finance & Operations and Treasurer Mike Wagner she guides $303M per year in college spending in support of our academic mission and authorizes new capital projects, renewals and annual capital spending. Eiko’s tenure in the role has coincided with changes and challenges to the higher ed financial landscape, and I am grateful for all the work she has done—and will do—to ensure our long-term financial health. This includes her track record in openly sharing information with the entire community about our financial planning and priorities.

Meanwhile, Eiko has also advanced our work in arts education by partnering with Pam Franks, Class of 1956 Director of the Williams College Museum of Art, to realize our vision for the new museum; facilitating conversations with faculty and staff about the future of our campus interdisciplinary arts spaces; and contributing to the development of a new public art process. In her oversight of Admission and Student Financial Services, Eiko has worked with Dean of Admission and Student Financial Services Liz Creighton ’01 to sustain Williams’ commitment to access and affordability. Her contributions to sustainability include support for re-envisioning the Zilkha Center fpr the Environment and our campus-wide decarbonization efforts. Her impact is also seen in our attention to the renewal of residential and dining spaces and our project to envision the future of athletics and wellbeing at Williams. A believer in shared governance, Eiko has done much of her most influential work in conjunction with colleagues on the Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility, the Ad Hoc Financial Planning Group, the Committee on Admission and Financial Aid, the Campus Environmental Advisory Committee, the Committee on Priorities and Resources, and the Working Group on the Future of the Williams-Mystic Program. You can learn more about her work on the provost’s website.

I rely heavily on Senior Staff as a group. They not only help set policy and make executive decisions, but are important partners in envisioning how Williams can continue to provide the best possible education. Gretchen and Eiko provide a valuable combination of faculty and administrative experience to those discussions. I am thrilled that they will continue doing so for three more years. Please join me in thanking them for their commitment when you can.

Warm regards,

Maud