Texas A & M College of Dentistry
ACTING DEAN ADDS PERSPECTIVE
by Caleb Vierkant
Dr . José Luis Bermúdez arrived on campus Nov . 1 as Texas A & M College of Dentistry ’ s new Acting Dean . He plans to focus on the positives , and amplify them , as he dives into his new role .
“ I want to help make it possible for everyone in this college to focus on their teaching , their research , all their service to students and to the community , with minimal obstacles and noise in the system ,” says Bermúdez , who joined the Texas A & M University faculty in 2010 .
He is Professor of Philosophy and the Samuel Rhea Gammon Professor of Liberal Arts , previously serving as both Associate Provost for Strategic Planning and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts . He replaces Dr . Lynne Opperman , Regents Professor , who had served as interim dean of the College of Dentistry since June 1 .
Bermúdez was born in Colombia and completed secondary education at St . Paul ’ s School in London before earning his undergraduate , master ’ s and doctorate degrees at the University of Cambridge . After faculty posts at Cambridge and the University of Stirling , he moved to America for faculty and director roles at Washington University in St . Louis before joining A & M .
“ I ’ ve always been an active scholar , an active teacher , but I ’ ve done increasing amounts of university management and academic leadership ,” Bermúdez says .
He arrived at Texas A & M as Liberal Arts Dean around the same time as President Katherine Banks , who was then Dean of Engineering . As two of the first external deans at A & M , they went through some similar experiences and challenges , he says , explaining that Banks thought it would benefit the College of Dentistry to have his perspective in a leadership role .
While philosophy and liberal arts do not have much in common with dentistry at first glance , he says a fresh perspective and previous experience in academic leadership are two strengths he brings to his new role as acting dean . He intends to analyze issues from multiple points of view , to get a full understanding by listening and learning from everyone involved .
“ I think , certainly in the first weeks here , that ’ s really going to be my emphasis : Trying to understand what the college is , trying to understand how different people see it ,” he says . “ My main qualification for being here is that I have no connection to dentistry , no history with the college . Completely fresh perspective , but a lot of experience in managing complex organizations and trying to make them work better to support academic operations .”
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