Dear Colleagues,
I am excited to share news that Ruben Gonzalez, Professor of Chemistry, will serve as our next Dean of Science within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, effective January 2025. In this role, Ruben will oversee the essential teaching and research missions of the Division of Natural Sciences, working closely with our department chairs, faculty, staff, and many partners across the Arts and Sciences and Columbia. Ruben will also manage core elements of the division related to faculty hiring and retention, grants and fundraising, science labs and facilities, external partnerships and collaborations, and much more. I am grateful to the faculty who offered input and consultation in the search for our new dean.
A member of the Columbia community since 2006, Ruben is a gifted and dedicated scientist, teacher, mentor, university citizen, and tireless advocate for greater access to science education and opportunity. Within the Department of Chemistry, he serves as principal investigator of the Gonzalez Lab, a pioneering research lab that develops and uses cutting-edge single-molecule imaging methods to investigate the molecular mechanisms of protein synthesis by the ribosome – a biological process critical to gene expression and thus to our understanding of human health and disease. Ruben is also a founder and director of the Precision Biomolecular Characterization Facility, a core facility at Columbia that provides colleagues across the University with access to state-of-the-art instrumentation for biophysical and biochemical information.
Ruben is among our finest teachers and student mentors, a recipient of the Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award, among other accolades. Since 2023 he has led Frontiers of Science within the Core Curriculum, a required course for all undergraduates that integrates modern science into Core education. From that platform, he has introduced students to the idea of research and invited them to participate in that work while at Columbia. Starting with efforts in his lab and department, Ruben has also been involved in initiatives across and beyond the university to build a more diverse pipeline of talent in the sciences. This includes serving as the founding advisor to the Columbia chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Latinx and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and as a member of the Provost’s Advisory Council for the Enhancement of Faculty Diversity, whose missions are to attract, train, inspire, and support the next generation of students and scholars in STEM-related fields.
Ruben will be an exceptional Dean of Science, bringing new energy and vision to the division and its important work. I look forward to working with him to implement our ambitious science agenda and to continue to produce the leading-edge research Columbia is known for around the world.
Yours,
Amy E. Hungerford
Dean and Executive Vice President
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Ruth Fulton Benedict Professor of English and Comparative Literature
