Tamara Beauboeuf was recently appointed as the new dean of faculty for DePauw University. Along with her position, she is also a faculty career mentor and a professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality studies. The DePauw sat down with her to learn more about the position, who Beauboeuf is and what she is currently working on.

The DePauw: What do you do as the Dean of Faculty? What do your duties entail?

Tamara Beauboeuf: As Dean of Faculty, I am a resource for faculty as they develop throughout their careers as teacher-scholars. I oversee outreach to new, mid-career, and senior faculty, and design programs to support their thriving. A key aspect of my duties is finding ways to recognize and publicize our faculty’s contributions to their fields. We’ve launched a new Faculty Achievements page that showcase recent books, invited talks, awards, grants, presentations, exhibits, and journal articles. I hope this page will also help the broader community — including students! — see and appreciate the work we do.   

TDP: What do you do/have you done in relation to the upcoming Day of Dialogue?

TB: I’ve been involved in the planning for DePauw Dialogue 4.0 and the efforts to make it more focused on building our skills to engage in productive dialogue with each other.

TDP: You also are a professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; How will/do you balance the positions of both professor and Dean of Faculty? How long have you been here at DePauw University?

TB: This is the start of my 17th year at DePauw, and yes, I’m a professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. My new role as dean is largely administrative, but I do still teach. This semester it’s a section of our Introduction to Women’s Studies course. The opportunity to be part of the development of undergraduates is what drew me into liberal arts teaching, so maintaining a connection to the classroom is very important to me.

TDP: Who was the previous Dean of Faculty and why did the position open up? how were you placed in this new office position?

TB: Carrie Klaus, Professor of Modern Languages (French) was the previous Dean of Faculty.  This is an administrative role that has a three-year term. Selection of the dean of faculty is made by the Vice President for Academic Affairs in consultation with the Faculty Priorities and Governance committee.

TDP: When did you become the Dean?

TB: I’ve been dean since July 1, 2017. I’m in the first months of a three-year term.