Dear Members of the Williams Community,
It is with great pleasure that I report that Ngonidzashe Munemo, Associate Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Global Studies Program, has agreed to serve as the next Associate Dean for Institutional Diversity and Equity. He will assume the role on July 1, 2016. Professor Munemo joined the Williams College community in 2007 as an Assistant Professor. His research interests include famine studies and political violence, and he is currently looking at institutional choices and changes in the executive office among countries that democratized after 1970. He is the author of Domestic Politics and Drought Relief in Africa: Explaining Choices.
We are excited to leverage his vast experience in the classroom and collaborative work with faculty and staff across campus. Professor Munemo has developed and taught more than a dozen political science courses at Williams and served as an advisor to more than two-dozen students writing theses and working on independent study projects. This will be his fourth year teaching in the Summer Humanities and Social Science Program for incoming first-year students and his second year directing the program. In addition, he has served as a member and chair of both the Faculty Steering Committee and Academic Standing Committee, as a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Faculty Committees, Faculty Review Panel, Faculty Compensation Committee, Williams in Africa, and College Environmental Advisory Committee.
The associate deanship is a rotating position. Professor Munemo will help lead policy and program development and assessment efforts and faculty and staff recruiting and retention efforts, among other things. His work will be critical to ensuring the Williams College community is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Please join me in thanking Professor Munemo for agreeing to serve in this critical role. He will succeed Karen Swann, current Associate Dean and Morris Professor of Rhetoric, who has served in the role since July 2013.