Dean of the Graduate School Thomas Lewis ’90 will step down from his role on July 31, according to a Tuesday announcement from Provost Francis Doyle. After more than 17 years at Brown, Lewis will be joining Cornell as their vice provost for graduate education and dean of the graduate school.
Working as the interim dean of Brown’s Graduate School in 2022 before assuming the permanent post in 2023, Lewis led efforts to improve graduate student advising while bolstering the enrollment growth of graduate programs, according to the announcement.
In addition to the development of inclusivity programs and expanded support for underrepresented students, the University saw a 40% increase in applications to doctoral programs over three years under Lewis’s leadership, the announcement added.
After earning his bachelor’s at Brown in religious studies in 1990, Lewis pursued a PhD at Stanford. He returned to Brown as a faculty member in 2007 and worked as the associate dean of academic affairs in the Graduate School from 2016 to 2022.
In the announcement, Doyle wrote that Lewis’s admiration for intellectual curiosity at Brown has “shaped his leadership and left a mark on graduate education across the University.”
Lewis’s “vision has been grounded in the understanding that graduate students play an essential role in the life of the University — both as scholars and as teachers — and his work has focused on ensuring their academic, professional and personal success,” he added.
Lewis wrote in an email to The Herald that he has been “profoundly shaped by the values and ethos” of Brown and looks forward to bringing these values to Cornell, where he will pursue similar work but on a larger scale.
“This is a vital moment for graduate education nationally,” he added. “There are immense pressures but also exciting opportunities. I look forward to seizing the opportunities that this moment presents.”
Doyle did not announce interim leadership for the Graduate School in the Tuesday announcement. The launch of a search for the next dean and interim leadership is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Claire Song is a university news and science & research editor for The Herald. She is a sophomore from California studying Applied Math-Biology. She likes to drink boba in her free time.
