Melanie Stein Named Provost and Claire Gleitman Named Dean of Humanities and Sciences

By Dave Maley, March 23, 2022

Both had been serving in interim roles for this academic year.

Provost Melanie Stein (left) and H&S Dean Claire Gleitman. (Photos by Sheryl Sinkow)

Ithaca College President La Jerne Terry Cornish today announced appointments for two academic leadership positions at the college. She has named Melanie Stein as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, and—in consultation with President Cornish—Stein has named Claire Gleitman as dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences. Both had been serving in interim roles since August 30, 2021.

Cornish said that as interim provost over this past year, Stein has demonstrated the leadership qualities and values essential to advancing the college’s academic enterprise.

“I am confident that Ithaca College will benefit from her continued service on behalf of our faculty and our students,” said Cornish. “Her experiences as an administrator, a scholar, and an educator in the classroom make her well-suited to lead the ongoing implementation of the Ithaca Forever strategic plan and to guide our academic community through the next phase of its evolution.”

Stein came to Ithaca College in 2019 as dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences and professor of mathematics after serving for the previous three years as dean of academic affairs at Trinity College in Connecticut. She had also served as interim dean of faculty, associate academic dean, and chair of the math department at Trinity. She holds an A.B. in mathematics from Harvard College and an M.S. and Ph.D. in mathematics from Cornell University.

“During my time at the college I have been continually impressed by the quality of our amazing faculty, our dedicated staff, and our engaged students. I look forward to partnering with President Cornish to guide us into our bright future.”

Provost Melanie Stein.

“During my time at the college I have been continually impressed by the quality of our amazing faculty, our dedicated staff, and our engaged students,” said Stein. “I look forward to partnering with President Cornish to guide us into our bright future. Claire has done a terrific job in the role of interim dean of humanities and sciences this year, and I look forward to continuing our work together as part of an academic leadership team with all five deans appointed.”

Gleitman took on the role of interim dean after nearly three decades of teaching, scholarship, and service to the school’s Department of Literatures in English, which she chaired for nine years.

“She has ably led the School of Humanities and Sciences as interim dean this past academic year,” said Cornish. “She brings to this role extensive academic leadership experience, having served as a member of the Faculty Council Executive Committee, president of the H&S Faculty Senate, department chair, and coordinator of Women’s and Gender Studies.”

Gleitman earned a faculty excellence award in 2007 and again in 2017 and served as president of the H&S Faculty Senate for six one-year terms. A co-founder of the college’s On the Verge play-reading series, her research interests focus primarily on modern drama and she is the author of the forthcoming book “Anxious Masculinity in Arthur Miller’s Drama and Beyond: Salesmen, Sluggers and Big Daddies” (Bloomsbury Press). She earned her Ph.D. and M.A. from New York University, and her B.A. from Wesleyan University.

“I have considered it an honor to serve in leadership roles within the liberal arts core of Ithaca College. I look forward to continuing to support H&S faculty and students in the innovative, collaborative, creative work that they do—inside and outside of the classroom; in seminars, performance spaces, lecture halls, internships, and labs—as they demonstrate the urgent importance of the liberal arts to imagining a better future for all citizens of our troubled world.”

Dean of H&S Claire Gleitman.

During the national search for a dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences in 2019—which ultimately led to the appointment of Melanie Stein—Gleitman was one of the four finalist candidates selected by the search committee who met with members of the campus community as part of the search process.

“I have considered it an honor to serve in leadership roles within the liberal arts core of Ithaca College,” said Gleitman. “I look forward to continuing to support H&S faculty and students in the innovative, collaborative, creative work that they do—inside and outside of the classroom; in seminars, performance spaces, lecture halls, internships, and labs—as they demonstrate the urgent importance of the liberal arts to imagining a better future for all citizens of our troubled world.”

The college is currently conducting searches for deans of the School of Business, Roy H. Park School of Communications, and School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.

“As we continue the searches for the three open deanships, having these positions filled will provide us with valuable continuity and stability,” said Cornish. “I look forward to partnering with both Provost Stein and Dean Gleitman as we continue to center the student experience both inside and outside of the classroom.”