Columbia GS Welcomes New Dean of Academic Affairs

Dear Columbia GS students,

As Columbia GS begins our 75th academic year, I am extremely pleased to announce that Dr. Caroline Marvin will become the new Dean of Academic Affairs at the Columbia School of General Studies, effective September 16, 2022.

A beloved teacher, scholar, mentor, accomplished scientist and administrator, Dean Marvin is a Lecturer and the Director of Academic Affairs in the Department of Psychology, where she oversees curriculum- and teaching-related needs of the department. She has also served as a Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Neuroscience & Behavior major, advising and mentoring undergraduate students pursuing study in neuroscience. She has taught Columbia’s introductory neuroscience and psychology courses, and advanced undergraduate and graduate courses, including Neuroscience & Society and The Psychology of Curiosity. Dean Marvin received her BA in English and History of Art from Yale University, her MA in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, and her PhD in Psychology from Columbia University.

It is particularly fitting that Dean Marvin’s research and scholarship focus on curiosity—what motivates people to seek and learn new information, how the motivation to learn influences memory, and how curiosity may change throughout the lifespan—areas of scholarship deeply relevant to her work with and in support of Columbia GS students.

At GS, Dean Marvin will lead our amazing Academic Affairs team—Senior Assistant Dean Glenn Novarr, Senior Assistant Dean Jenny Lie, and Assistant Director Mandeep Singh—and provide strategic leadership on all questions of academic policy and curriculum for GS students. She will work closely with the faculty of the Arts and Sciences and will support faculty in providing academic programs to you, the students of GS. She will also collaborate with other offices at GS and our partner institutions in the development and the nurturing of our innovative dual degree programs. 

Under Dean Marvin’s leadership, our Academic Affairs team will continue its focus on scholarship and research, dedicated to guiding GS students interested in advanced academic studies, and on developing new foundation and federal grants to support GS students. She will work closely with Dean Novarr in support of the GS fellowship program and collaboration with the Columbia College Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Office on opportunities for GS undergraduates. She will also work closely with Dean Lie to manage the GS Graduate School Coaching Program, and will oversee all aspects of the selection and induction processes of students into the General Studies Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa.

I am beyond thrilled to welcome Dean Marvin to Columbia GS and look forward to working with her and the team to continue developing and enhancing the incredible academic opportunities available to GS students.

Sincerely,

Lisa Rosen-Metsch
Dean, Columbia University School of General Studies
Professor of Sociomedical Sciences