University President Tania Tetlow and Provost Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dennis Jacobs announced Jessica Lang as Fordham’s dean of arts and sciences, effective July 1. Lang will be the first dean to oversee the departments at Fordham, per a university-wide email.

In her new position, Lang will have oversight of the arts and sciences departments. This oversight includes control over the budget for the department, personnel decisions and management of both the undergraduate and graduate programs.

Lang has served as the dean of the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College since July 2020. Tetlow and Jacobs cited Lang’s expansions of graduate programs and majors at Baruch, as well as her collaboration efforts with its other academic departments, as valuable assets to the Fordham community.

“Dr. Lang is a champion for the liberal arts, embodies the ideals of Jesuit education, and is a highly effective fundraiser. She is eager to work collaboratively with Fordham’s faculty, students, and staff to advance the mission of Arts and Sciences for the 21st century,” Tetlow and Jacobs wrote.

Vice Provost Jonathan Crystal chaired the search committee for the position. The committee interviewed 10 semifinalists before narrowing down their search to three finalists, of which Lang ultimately became the top candidate for the inaugural position.