Dear GSAS Students,

I’m writing today to announce that Sam Bersola, GSAS Dean of Students, has decided to leave the University to return to his family in Southern California. His last day at Harvard will be July 8, 2022.

During his tenure as dean, Sam has made a lasting impact on GSAS. He championed a successful initiative to establish a first-ever intramural athletics league for all students enrolled in Harvard’s graduate and professional Schools. He served on the leadership team that collaborated with the Office of Physical Resources and Planning and an architecture firm to develop a feasibility study for the renovation of the GSAS Student Center. He led the Office of Student Affairs through numerous complex student cases and issues, nurturing successful collaborations with a variety of internal and external stakeholders. Sam helped to expand the student services team and supported the team in adopting a new online case management system.

A great advocate for GSAS students, Sam worked with student leaders to better understand the needs of international students. He also collaborated with student leaders to implement programming that celebrated, for the first time at GSAS, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Lunar New Year.

Dean for Academic Programs and Diversity Sheila Thomas will serve as interim dean of students while a search for Sam’s successor is undertaken.

Please join me in thanking Sam and wishing him all the best in his future endeavors.

With all best wishes,

Emma Dench
Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History and of the Classics