Peter John Loewen will serve as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences starting Aug.1, according to Provost Michael Kotlikoff’s Friday, May 24 announcement.
Loewen will succeed interim dean Rachel Bean, who has led Arts and Sciences since July 2023 after former dean Ray Jayawardhana accepted a position as provost of Johns Hopkins University.
Loewen currently works as the director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, where he has also led the Policy, Elections and Representation Lab, which analyzes voting behavior, policy and technology’s impact on politics.
In an email to students in Arts and Sciences obtained by The Sun, Kotlikoff wrote that Loewen’s academic and leadership background aligns with the college’s work.
“[Loewen]’s credentials as an accomplished scholar on democratic institutions and elections and his track record of effective, thoughtful and collaborative leadership make him a tremendous fit for the College of Arts and Sciences,” Kotlikoff wrote.
Loewen also plans to hold a professor position in the Department of Government.
“How we collectively deal with the huge demographic and technological changes that are happening are really big questions for democracies to wrestle with,” Loewen stated in the announcement. “Those are questions that will be thrilling to engage graduate and undergraduate students in at some point in the classroom.”