New month, new faces—today, July 1, Michele Moody-Adams and Feniosky Peña-Mora officially join Columbia’s undergraduate academic administration.
Today, they formally begin their tenures as dean of Columbia College and dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science respectively. (Stanford psychologist Claude Steele begins his term as provost on Sept. 1, but is reportedly making his cross-country move to Morningside Heights earlier this summer).
The start of their service marks the end—or perhaps the continuation—of a year rife with transitions for Columbia, including administrative appointments and dealing with the financial crisis.
With the arrival of Peña-Mora, Moody-Adams, and Steele, Columbia’s upper ranks more accurately reflect the composition of its student body—all three are the first non-white Columbians to step into their new posts. Moody-Adams is also the first woman to serve as a Columbia College dean.
University President Lee Bollinger, who played a key role in the appointments, told Spectator in May that Moody-Adams represents “our effort to try to have greater integration of the College into [Faculty of] Arts and Sciences.”
Moody-Adams—a philosopher and Plato fan—is leaving her position as vice provost for undergraduate education at Cornell University to assume Austin Quigley's former position as Columbia College dean.
“Maybe that’s why I naturally fit at Columbia, because of the Core and the cultures and critical thinking it involves,” she said earlier, citing her background in philosophy as a perfect match for alma mater and its Core Curriculum. She was drawn to Columbia because of its “ability to blend respect for tradition with respect for intellectual innovation.”
The civil engineer Peña-Mora, recently the associate provost of the University of Illinois, succeeds interim dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Gerald Navratil, after the search spanned the past two years.
Bollinger believes that Peña-Mora—whom he refers to as "Fenni"—offers “the opportunity to have new leadership, to galvanize around [SEAS’] objectives, and to build.” Specifically, he cited Peña-Mora’s ambition for advancement in such areas as biomedical engineering, nanoscience, and computer science.
Peña-Mora, known for his enthusiastic interactions with students, told Spectator shortly after the University announced his appointment that he hopes to carry the SEAS long-term “Vision 2020” plan out to “continue the excellence of the school, enhancing the international footprint of the school, and fostering better interaction with industry.”
New hires in student services include Monique Rinere as dean of advising and associate dean of student affairs and Daniel Barkowitz as financial aid dean.
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