Adrian Randolph, dean of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, will step down at the end of the 2026-27 academic year, outgoing Provost Kathleen Hagerty announced in a Wednesday news release.
Randolph has held the role since 2015, overseeing about 60 departments and programs. He helped create four new majors — Asian American Studies, Global Health Studies, Data Science and Environmental Policy and Culture — throughout his time as dean.
“During his tenure, he has consistently guided his many constituents with intellectual prowess, creativity and wit,” Hagerty said in the release. “Adrian is both a deep thinker and an effectual doer, and Northwestern is better because of his many contributions.”
Randolph, a first-generation college student himself, helped expand Weinberg’s Arch Scholars Program, which supports first-generation and low-income students through mentorship and academic preparation opportunities, as well as research opportunities for undergraduates.
Randolph also led efforts to update Weinberg’s degree requirements, convening an Ad Hoc Committee on Degree Requirements that spearheaded the “first comprehensive revision in decades,” according to the release. Foundational disciplines, which debuted in fall 2023, were “grounded in the liberal arts tradition” and designed to equip students with the necessary skills “to observe, critique, reflect and express themselves effectively and persuasively,” the release read.
During his time at NU, Randolph has hired 274 continuing faculty members, about 40% of Weinberg’s current faculty, according to the release.
Randolph’s resignation as the dean of the University’s largest school comes as NU will see a new president and provost in the upcoming academic year. The University plans to begin searching for Randolph’s successor “at a later date,” Hagerty said in the release.
“I am confident that my successor will be inspired, as I continue to be, by the extraordinary accomplishments of our faculty, students and staff,” Randolph said in the release. “The opportunities ahead for Weinberg College are tremendous, and I look forward to seeing the College continue to thrive in the years to come.”
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