Denise Cruz, Chair and Professor of English and Comparative Literature, will serve as an Ivy+ Mellon Leadership Fellow within the Office of the Dean and Executive Vice President for the 2024-25 academic year. In addition to her regular teaching, chairing, and research activities, a portion of Professor Cruz’ time will be spent advancing vital academic projects that reach across different divisions of Arts and Sciences.
Under the auspices of this fellowship, Professor Cruz will serve as Director of Special Initiatives for the Arts and Sciences, building and directing new initiatives that seek to enhance the academic experience for students across our undergraduate schools, with an immediate focus on the student experience in our largest majors. The goal of this effort – a collaboration with Josef Sorett, Dean of Columbia College and Vice President for Undergraduate Education – will be to identify concrete ways to enhance student relationships with our tenured faculty early in their careers, cultivate research experiences for all students in the context of coursework, and ensure that students both before and after their declaration of a major feel a sense of welcome and belonging that builds on their first-year experience and that fast-tracks their connections to faculty and peers. As part of this effort, Professor Cruz will also work with Dean Sorett to consider how advising structures (professional and within departments) can best support students across all four years of their time as undergraduates.
Congratulations, Professor Cruz!
