In apress release on April 5, the University of Notre Dame announced that Professor Michael Hildreth had been appointed as the new dean of the Graduate School. Hildreth had previously served as a professor of physics and astronomy and senior associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Science.
During an interview with The Observer, Hildreth summed up his vision for the Graduate School in two words: “excellence and distinctiveness.”
“We hear quite often that Notre Dame provides an unsurpassed undergraduate education. Why aren’t we saying that we provide an unsurpassed graduate education?” Hildreth questioned.
In pursuit of this excellence, Hildreth aims to attract the highest level students and faculty.
“The better faculty you have, the better students that you can attract, and the flip side is also true. The better students that we can attract, sometimes the better faculty we can attract,” he said.
Attracting high caliber students and teachers stems from having robust research programs that offer tangible opportunities, Hildreth explained.
“Many students who are thinking about going to graduate school want to see how their research can have an impact, much more rapidly than ‘Oh, I’m doing basic science, so maybe 30 years from now someone will use this.’ They want to see tangible benefits of their work,” Hildreth pointed out.
Part of demonstrating these tangible benefits includes improving career services, Hildreth said.
“We actually have quite strong career services for graduate students that have been built up over the last 10 years or so, [but] I don’t think as many graduate students as possible have been taking advantage of that,” he stated. “ … I don’t think that we have enough engagement between graduate students and their mentors, or even, maybe they need more mentors to figure out how to discern their future careers.”
Hildreth said he also intends to expand internship opportunities for graduate and postdoctoral students.
“We were doing some of that, but I think we could do more,” he said.
Hildreth emphasized that having a strong graduate research program is central to the University’s mission.
“The graduate students and postdocs are critical to both the research and teaching missions of the University. If we want to advance the University from a research perspective, these folks are the engines that drive the research enterprise of the University,” Hildreth said.
When it comes to the part of his vision that focuses on distinctiveness, Hildreth said he aims to lean into the Catholic character of the University.
“Is there a way that we can create a graduate curriculum that reflects Notre Dame, and Notre Dame’s vision as a Catholic research university?” he questioned.
Hildreth proposed that this could be accomplished by putting a greater focus on questions of ethics, encouraging community outreach and fostering interdisciplinary studies.
Hildreth expressed confidence that his time in the College of Science that focused on research and graduate studies has prepared him well for his role as dean of the Graduate School, both through the work he has done and the people he has interacted with.
“I’ve been interacting with the Graduate School and trying to understand and implement graduate policies and supporting graduate students and postdocs throughout my time in the Dean’s office here in the College of Science,” he said.
Hildreth also praised former dean Laura Carlson, who served in the position from 2013 through 2022, for the work she accomplished during her tenure.
“The previous dean of the graduate school, Laura Carlson, … did a great job in terms of figuring out what kind of support services the students needed and really put a lot of these career services support structures in place. The graduate life is much, much better than it was when she started 10 years ago,” Hildreth said.
Above all, Hildreth conveyed a sense of optimism about his new role.
“I think we’re in a pretty good place,” he said. “Our task really moving forward is how do we get from good to excellent?”
New Graduate School dean Michael Hildreth discusses hopes for new role
Professor Michael Hildreth has been appointed dean of the Graduate School by University President Fr. John Jenkins.
