Prof. Malcolm Watson, current chair of the Psychology department, will become the new dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences effective July 1, according to a May 6 University press release. Current Dean of the GSAS Prof. Gregory Freeze (HIST) will be stepping down, effective at the same time. In an e-mail to the Justice, Freeze wrote that he was due for his sabbatical and wants "to return full time to my research and teaching."

Watson wrote, in an e-mail to the Justice, that his name was suggested for the post after Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe called for the nomination of faculty members, although he wrote that he "did not aspire to the position and took some time to decide to accept a nomination." In the past, he served as the department director of Graduate Studies, but he has not recently been directly involved with the GSAS, Watson wrote in his e-mail. He went on to write that in his 33 years at Brandeis, he has normally worked with both doctoral and master's degree candidates.

Watson wrote that "the biggest task for GSAS is funding for the graduate programs to keep the entire program in the black." In a separate e-mail to the Justice, Freeze wrote that "primarily by increasing the enrollments in master's and certificate programs," the GSAS was able to transform a $1.8 million deficit in the 2008 to 2009 academic year to a $739,000 surplus during the 2009-2010 academic year.

In his e-mail, Watson identified six priorities that, he wrote, "will guide me as I make decisions on what we do in the GSAS office." Included in these priorities are the maintenance of an organized and functioning GSAS staff; the continued funding for graduate programs; an increase in advertisement and marketing of graduate programs as a means to recruit new graduate students; ensuring that graduate programs meet the needs and provide a service to students that is worth their time, effort and money; frequent evaluation of the standards used by departments and programs in awarding Master of Arts and Ph.D. degrees; and ensuring a high quality of life for graduate students.

In his e-mail, Freeze counseled that in order to maintain a high level of educational quality while increasing enrollment, the GSAS must generate a larger applicant pool.

According to the University press release, Freeze oversaw the review of graduate programs as part of the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee and Brandeis 2020 committee. Freeze wrote that he supported most of the committee's proposals, which, he said, have more to do with improving efficiency than with cutting or downsizing. Watson wrote in his e-mail that the recommendations of the CARS and Brandeis 2020 committees "are part of the need to keep the graduate programs on a strong financial footing."

Jaffe wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, "Dean Freeze has done a sensational job. . Prof. Watson has been a terrific citizen of the University, and I expect he will continue the strong leadership that Dean Freeze has shown." In his e-mail, Freeze wrote, "We are on the right track, have an excellent staff at GSAS, and found an excellent replacement in Professor Malcolm Watson."-