Fordham University appointed Robert J. Hume, Ph.D., as vice dean for Faculty Affairs on July 1 — a role responsible for supporting 1,200 faculty members across the Arts and Sciences department.
The vice dean is responsible for coordinating faculty development in tandem with the dean of Arts and Sciences, which includes the hiring, tenure and retention of faculty.
Beyond management, Hume said he intends to foster a sense of community and belonging in his new role through faculty-focused and student-focused initiatives across Fordham’s campuses, including a revamp of student course evaluations and the development of strategies for artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom.
His work follows twenty years of instructional and administrative positions at Fordham, which Hume said aids him in his new role.
“The work of an administrator is really very different from the work of a faculty member, even though I think being a faculty member makes me better at being an administrator,” Hume said. “And being able to, like, understand [the faculty’s] needs because you’ve been in their position before.”
Hume holds a Bachelor of Arts. in history from the College of the Holy Cross and a Master of Arts and Doctorate of politics from the University of Virginia. He began his career at Fordham in 2005 as a professor of political science. Hume was named associate chair of the political science department in 2011 and held the position until 2015 when he became chair of the department. Hume explained how his experience as a faculty member lends to his new role.
“I think it’s difficult to support the work of faculty if you’re not a faculty member yourself,” Hume said. “I’m in the classroom as well, doing senior-level seminars, and trying to think about how to approach AI and what AI policies should be. And so if you’re doing that work alongside [faculty members], it helps you support that work better.”
As faculty across Fordham navigate emerging pedagogical challenges, Hume noted that several student-facing updates are underway within the Office of Faculty Affairs.
Hume is working to implement a new student course evaluation system, which will include shorter questions that are “designed to focus on the student experience.” He also announced future plans to make student responses public.
With the help of Margaret Konkel, Ph.D., the senior director of the Center for Educational Innovation, Hume’s office is strategizing an AI policy at Fordham, such as workshops intended to provide support for faculty at a “more centralized” level.
“Just as the professors had to adapt when the Internet became widely available, we had to think, all right, how do we adjust our pedagogy?” he said. “Now, I think a lot of faculty are trying to think about how do we adjust our pedagogy now that AI is here?”
Beyond shared experiences, Hume also emphasized the importance of effectively managing a team of faculty members in his administration by striking a balance between management and collaboration as peers. He said his time as chair of the political science department taught him how to find that balance.
“Learning how to do that effectively, I’ve found to be an important skill,” he said.
Hume served as chair of the Arts and Sciences Core Curriculum Committee from 2013 to 2018. In 2021, he was appointed associate dean of the Faculty, and in 2023, he assumed the position of interim dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, a role he held until this year.
