Falk given new Vice Deanship

Last week, Physics and Astronomy Department professor Adam Falk was appointed Vice-Dean for Faculty and Academic Programs, a newly created position. The predecessor position, Dean of the Faculty, had a slightly different jurisdiction. The current Dean of the Faculty, Daniel Weiss, will move to the position of Dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS), a position currently held by Stephen David, who is now spending about half of his time working at that position. Weiss was contacted for comment, but did not reply by press time.

According to Falk, his responsibilities as Vice-Dean include oversight of centers and programs, such as the program in Comparative American Cultures (CAC) and the program for the study of Women, Gender and Sexuality (WGS), graduate programs, academic departments and strategic planning for department faculty.

As for his agenda for his upcoming term, Falk said, "I'm very much in a learning mode and I think I will be for a while... Right now, I'm still in the learning mode and I think I will be for a while."

One of Falk's most controversial responsibilities will be the stewardship of the CAC program, which student groups are currently lobbying to have expanded into a Department of African and African-American Studies.

Last week, Falk was at a meeting of the campus political-action umbrella group JHUnity, which supports a creation of a Department for African and African-American studies.

"African-American Studies should have a strong intellectual presence in Arts and Sciences, said Falk.

"I don't think that there's any question that we should support an African-American studies program (with a small 'p')."

In the Physics and Astronomy Department, Falk was a member of the High Energy Theory Group and studies "issues in elementary particle physics and quantum field theory," according to Falk's Web site.

In 1999, Falk won the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award.

Falk was also named as a recent Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow.

In speaking about the new position he is about to take on and the responsibilities it will entail, Falk expressed gratitude to be a part of the KSAS.

"I'm very excited about it. This is a very exciting time for the school of Arts and Sciences.