Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences

Bárbara M. Brizuela, Professor of Education, was appointed Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences in November 2024 after serving as Dean ad interim since July 2024. As Dean, she aims to work with faculty colleagues and Arts and Sciences staff to improve and strengthen shared faculty governance; to update and invigorate the curriculum; to support the new facilities being designed and built; to fulfill the school’s commitment to the diversification of the faculty, staff, and student body; and to enhance the research profile of the school through new faculty hires and support of the outstanding scholars and researchers already on staff. 

Dean Brizuela also serves as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), a role she has held since 2022. As Dean of GSAS she has led master’s and PhD enrollment efforts for Tufts’ largest graduate school, spearheaded the development of the school’s mission and value statement, led program development efforts, launched the Future Leaders Fellows program, redesigned the graduate financial aid process, and served on the university-wide Graduate Education Task Force convened by the Provost’s Office in 2022. 

Before becoming Dean of GSAS, Dean Brizuela served as an Academic Dean and Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in the School of Arts and Sciences. As a Professor in the Department of Education, Dean Brizuela’s main areas of interest are mathematics education, early childhood education, and cognitive development. Her current research focuses on children’s learning of elementary mathematics, specifically mathematical representations and early algebraic thinking and is funded by the National Science Foundation. Dean Brizuela holds a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, an MA in education from Tufts, and degrees (licenciaturas) from the Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina. View her faculty profile.