Wesleyan Announces Appointment of New Deans

Beginning July 1, Marc Eisner will serve as Dean of the Social Sciences, Ellen Nerenberg as Dean of Arts and Humanities, and Joseph Knee as Dean of the Sciences and Mathematics.

Eisner’s appointment was announced April 17, while the appointments of Nerenberg and Knee were made at the faculty meeting in November 2014. Eisner will succeed Joyce Jacobsen; Nerenberg will succeed Andrew Curran; and Knee will succeed Ishita Mukerji.

Eisner is the Henry Merritt Wriston Chair of Public Policy, professor and chair of government, professor of environmental studies. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research addresses U.S. political economy and public policy, with a focus on regulation. Eisner is author or coauthor of eight books and is currently working on a project explaining the dynamics of regulatory change in an era of polarization and drift. At Wesleyan, he has served as chair of the Educational Policy Committee and the Compensation and Benefits Committee, and is currently vice chair of the Review and Appeals Board.

Nerenberg is Hollis Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, professor of Italian. She holds degrees from Stanford University and the University of Chicago and has been teaching Italian Studies at Wesleyan since 1994. Nerenberg is the winner of the Howard R. Marraro Prize from the Modern Language Association, and author of Murder Made in Italy: Homicide, Media and Contemporary Italian Culture (Indiana University Press, 2012). She is at work completing a book titled Primo Levi on the Air. At Wesleyan, she has served on the Advisory Committee, RAB, chair of Romance Languages, and chair of the faculty.

Knee is professor of chemistry. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from S.U.N.Y Stony Brook and did a postdoctoral fellowship in the group of Nobel Prize-winner Ahmed Zewail at CalTech.  Since coming to Wesleyan, the focus of his research group has been on laser spectroscopy of gas phase molecules. He is best known for his pioneering work on the energetics, structure and dynamics of molecular cations.  He teaches a variety of courses in the department including important contributions to the first-year curriculum for Chemistry majors.  He has served Wesleyan in a number of capacities including four terms on the Advisory committee and two terms as chair of Chemistry.