Eric Wertheimer Named Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education and Dean of Graduate School

Eric Wertheimer, Professor of English and American Studies at Arizona State University (ASU), has been appointed Stony Brook’s new Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education and Dean of the Graduate School, effective July 1, 2019.

A native of New Jersey, Wertheimer received a BA from Haverford College and a PhD in English from the University of Pennsylvania.

“Dr. Wertheimer has had considerable experience in an array of academic leadership roles relevant to the needs and aspirations of our Graduate School,”  said Provost and Senior Vice-President for Academic Affairs Michael Bernstein. “He understands the unique relationship between graduate units and the larger structures which nurture them — all within increasingly dynamic and often challenging operational environments.”

Having served ASU in three major capacities, Wertheimer is well versed in the details of graduate school administration.  He served as inaugural Director of the ASU New College Division of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies.  He was also founding Director (and lead fundraiser) for the ASU Center for Critical Inquiry and Cultural Studies. Ultimately, Wertheimer held a five-year appointment as the Associate Vice Provost and Associate Dean of the ASU Graduate College.

During his tenure at ASU, Wertheimer led efforts to expand and deepen initiatives across a broad spectrum of graduate and postdoctoral needs, managing over $3 million in sponsored grants.  A partnership with Science Foundation Arizona and the National Science Foundation sustained best practices in enhancing the diversity of postdoctoral appointments.

His work with the Mellon Foundation and the Modern Language Association resulted in the construction of an ambitious set of innovations in graduate training in languages and literature. As Principal Investigator on a Luce Foundation project, Wertheimer stewarded the elaboration of curriculum-building networks with Chinese universities. Beyond his duties at ASU, Dr. Wertheimer has taken a leadership role in national and regional policy-making conversations pertinent to graduate education through active participation in the work of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and of the Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS).

Wertheimer is a specialist on American cultural and literary history, and he is an accomplished creative writer.  His major scholarly publications include Imagined Empires: Incas, Aztecs, and the New World of American Literature, 1771-1876 (Cambridge University Press, 1998) and Underwriting: The Poetics of Insurance in America, 1722-1872 (Stanford University Press, 2006).  Dr. Wertheimer’s first collection of poetry, Mylar, appeared in 2012 (BlazeVOX Press);  a more recent collection, Regulus, was issued last year by Four Chambers Press/Hoot & Waddle Press.