Grow the size of our faculty
The Krieger School of Arts and Sciences must grow if it wishes to fulfill the goals related to undergraduate education. Growth is also essential if we wish to compete on a level playing field with our peers in terms of reputation, ranking, and accomplishment.
Our strategies
Realize investments in units identified as institutional priorities.
In recent years, the Krieger School has leveraged institutional strengths in key research areas to garner several significant gifts capable of transforming the school’s contributions to research and discovery. The Krieger School must continue to support investments in the Bloomberg Distinguished Professors Program, the SNF Agora Institute, the William H. Miller III Department of Philosophy, the William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, and the Department of English.
Sustain excellence in highly ranked departments and those poised to excel.
The Krieger School houses several elite departments whose exceptional faculty devote their time to research, teaching, and service. Growth of the faculty can produce exponential benefits, generating more opportunities for faculty collaboration and transforming the student experience through increased opportunities for research and mentorship. Strategic growth will increase the school’s reputation even further, contributing to the collective excellence of a premiere school of arts and sciences.
Increase the profile of the humanities.
Currently, the Krieger School is home for eight endowed professorships held by faculty members whose work and influence spans multiple fields within the humanities. We aim to increase the number of endowed professorships in the humanities to 14. Doing so will serve as a recruitment tool to establish a core group of tenured faculty in the humanities. Our vision is that these faculty members will be eager to further the interdisciplinary nature of their work, even as they engage deeply with undergraduate education and the public humanities.
Invest in emerging fields of study across the arts and sciences.
The Krieger School has identified several key fields of study that involve multiple departments and programs. Cluster hires and joint appointments in areas such as neuroscience, artificial intelligence, data intensive social sciences, sustainability and climate change, trans-Asian studies, and Africana studies are expanding the reach of these interdisciplinary fields.
Our accomplishments
Expanding faculty hiring through transformational gifts
During AY2023-24, the Krieger School welcomed new faculty in the William H. Miller III Department of Philosophy, the William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, the Department of English, and the SNF Agora Institute. Searches have continued in each unit, and the school will welcome several new faculty members in fall 2024 and in the coming years, including faculty associated with Bloomberg Distinguished Professorship clusters in Epigenome Sciences, Imaging and Quantum Technologies, and Sustainable Transformations and Energy.
Department expansions and faculty honors
Several departments have initiated strategic expansion, including Biology, Biophysics, Mathematics, and Sociology. In addition, KSAS continues to grow in stature this year through the accomplishments of its faculty. Most notably, two Krieger School professors have been awarded 2024 Guggenheim Fellowships, three faculty have been recognized this year as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one Sloan Research Fellow was awarded in Chemistry and one in Physics. In addition, we secured an endowed gift to establish the Winter Family Chair in Mathematics. Over the last year, KSAS has increased its tenure line faculty from 355 to 382.
Investments in emerging fields
Through participation in the Fannie Gaston-Johansson Faculty of Excellence Program, the Krieger School has hired new faculty associated with Africana Studies and Latin American, Caribbean, and LatinX Studies. Several faculty members have also submitted proposals for clusters in the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorship Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Initiative, which may expand our collaborative reach in these areas.