Executive Dean Holly Smith shares goals for Arts & Science Archived article from Feb 1, 2002   Holly M. Smith was appointed executive dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences- New Brunswick and dean of the Graduate School-New Brunswick last August. In a recent interview with Focus, she reflected on her career, her goals for FAS and on becoming a New Jerseyan. FOCUS:What was the defining moment of your academic career, your life? SMITH:One defining moment came when I was in college, reading an assignment for my Plato course, and realized that I loved thinking about these issues and would be happy to spend the rest of my life doing exactly what I was doing that afternoon. That realization set me on a course that led to graduate school and a career as a philosopher. Dean Holly Smith Photo by Nick Romanenko Another defining moment came when I first started working as vice provost at the University of Arizona. Becoming an academic administrator can be a scary experience after a faculty career. As a faculty member in a humanities discipline (by contrast with the sciences), you are almost completely in control of your own success or failure: either you write a good article or you don't; either you conduct a good class or you don't. No one else plays a visibly significant role. But as an administrator, you are highly dependent on the other people with whom you work; nothing can be accomplished by a single person working alone. At first I was unnerved by that sort of dependency for success or failure on other people. But then I realized that I greatly enjoyed working with partners and accomplishing things together as a team. One way to put it is that it's a far less lonely life. It was with that realization that I saw how an administrative career could be extraordinarily fulfilling. FOCUS:How does your background in philosophy figure into the task of being a college administrator? SMITH:Philosophy provides terrific training in analyzing and clarifying problems, something administrators must do all the time. In my case, specialization in ethics and moral philosophy gives me a special perspective on the many issues confronting administrators that have a moral dimension. Most of the decisions we need to make involve considerations of fairness or protecting people's rights, and my background in this area is extremely helpful in thinking through how to achieve administratively the most fair result for everyone concerned. The connection goes the opposite way as well: working as an administrator has given me increased insight into the importance and character of certain kinds of moral problems, and I've written on some of these in my philosophical work. For example, philosophers have often written about whether one should keep a promise (and why), but they have rarely focused on the question of when one should make a promise in the first place -- an issue deans have to face all the time, and not an easy one at that. FOCUS:How has the transition from Arizona to New Jersey been for you? SMITH:I have deep roots in the West -- my parents were native New Mexicans; I grew up in Colorado and spent the last 18 years in Arizona -- so the move to the East Coast has meant adjusting to a tamer set of vistas, to rolling green hills instead of raw mountains and deserts. But I'm greatly appreciating the sense of intellectual energy at Rutgers and the closeness to all the extraordinary cultural opportunities available in this region. I'm also enjoying a different sort of diversity. Arizona has very large and very old Hispanic and Native American populations, and all the wonderful linguistic, cultural and historical wealth that go with them. But New Jersey has an amazingly broad array of cultures, many of them represented by relative newcomers to this country, and the ferment this produces is equally wonderful -- not to speak of the astonishing assemblage of ethnic foods readily available for exploration in every supermarket! FOCUS:What attracted you to Rutgers? SMITH:Rutgers is a tremendously exciting institution: it has already established major graduate and research programs of high international standing, and it has the resources, will, flexibility and state support to continue that rapid upward trajectory -- even taking into account the short rough patch caused by the current state deficit. At the same time, it has a strong history of, and commitment to, high-quality undergraduate education. I was excited by the chance to participate in such a promising future, and the opportunity to learn more about the physical, mathematical and life sciences was an especially attractive aspect of this deanship. FOCUS:Now that you have been here for a few months, have you identified any areas you would like to strengthen or developed any goals or plans for FAS? SMITH:Although I'm still learning about the detailed opportunities and challenges that face FAS, my broad goals for the next few years are to maintain our momentum in building graduate and research programs; to ensure the vitality of the undergraduate academic experience we offer students; to lead FAS in becoming more actively involved in the preparation and professional development of K-12 teachers; to implement recommendations emerging from the recent report of the FAS Gender Equity Committee for enhancing the status of women faculty members; and to expand fund raising during the capital campaign to enable FAS units to achieve a special measure of excellence. I find that it's terribly important as an academic administrator to remain in touch with students and their concerns, so I've established a new undergraduate student advisory committee within FAS to give the students a chance to bring their ideas and issues to the dean and to give me a chance to find out what works and what doesn't work in their academic lives. It's a terrific group. I've learned a great deal from them so far and am very much looking forward to our future meetings. Our goals for the Graduate School include finding ways to increase the number of graduate assistantships and fellowships and to increase the stipends associated with these positions in order to maintain our competitiveness, and continuing to enhance the opportunities we offer graduate students to become even better instructors in their chosen fields. FOCUS:What do you do for relaxation? SMITH:A dean's first year in a new institution doesn't leave much time for relaxation. But I'm a voracious reader, enjoy photography and am finding some time to explore the offerings of New Jersey and New York City. Before I went into philosophy, I was aiming at a career in sculpture and graphic arts, so I've been especially delighted by the chance to enjoy regional museums and galleries. For vacations I love to travel, especially to countries with strong aesthetic traditions in architecture and the fiber arts, and have enjoyed trips to Turkey, Morocco, Ireland and Beijing in the last several years. For a restorative interlude, I would pick mountains and wilderness areas any time. At a glance Holly M. Smith Education: B.A. in philosophy from Wellesley College; M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Michigan Research areas: Moral philosophy, including normative ethics; meta-ethics; and biomedical ethics Previous position: Dean and faculty member, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Arizona Organizations: Past president of the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, member of the American Philosophical Association and of the Public AAU Arts and Sciences Deans' Association

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