Philip W. Scher, recent Divisional Dean for Social Sciences at the University of Oregon, begins August 4, 2025
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UMass Dartmouth Provost Ramprasad Balasubramanian recently announced that Dr. Philip W. Scher will become the next Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, effective July 31, 2025.
Scher most recently served as the Department Head for Cinema Studies and Theatre Arts and previously served for six years as the Divisional Dean for Social Sciences at the University of Oregon. In the latter position, he successfully led 20 departments and programs that serve over 22% of all undergraduate majors at the flagship campus. At Oregon, Scher fostered cross-disciplinary partnerships to enhance faculty scholarship and creative work, promote academic excellence, and increase student success.
As Dean, Scher established the School for Global Studies and Languages, which combined language and literature departments with International Relations and area studies, attracting significant state investment and external philanthropy. He also expanded the Environmental Studies program and led the creation and expansion of undergraduate programs in Criminology, Latinx Studies, Native American and Indigenous Studies, and Environmental Studies, as well as an accelerated master’s program in Economics. Scher is also a Professor of Anthropology with a research focus on the Caribbean.
“I am pleased to welcome Dr. Scher as the new Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He brings a deep commitment to academic excellence, interdisciplinary collaboration, and inclusive leadership. In collaboration with our Arts & Sciences faculty, Dr. Scher will develop a bold vision for the future of the college. I look forward to partnering with him as we continue elevating the transformative impact of the arts, humanities, and sciences on our campus and communities.” said Provost Ramprasad Balasubramanian.
Much of Scher’s career has revolved around improving student success and social mobility by promoting timely graduation rates and enhancing experiential learning opportunities. At Oregon, he led initiatives to improve student access to internships and experiential learning opportunities, create attractive minors and majors, and expand cross-campus collaboration. He also actively found new ways of assessing student achievement gaps at the department level.
“I am thrilled to be joining UMass Dartmouth as the new Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The university has a dynamic and engaged academic community committed to innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and student success,” said Scher. “I am eager to work alongside the outstanding faculty, staff, and students to further enrich and develop the college’s programs, foster transformative research, and support students’ goals and aspirations. This is an exciting opportunity to support and shape the future of the liberal arts and sciences at a university that values curiosity, creativity, and impact. And for me, it is a welcome return home to the region where I was born and raised.”
Scher, a cultural anthropologist, has written or edited four books and published extensively in journals and book chapters on the politics of culture in the Caribbean. Scher served as a Guggenheim Fellow and Fulbright Scholar and has received grants from the Merchant Ivory Foundation and Wenner-Gren Foundation to support his work on heritage, nationalism, globalization, and the politics of culture in the Caribbean and the broader Americas. His research examines how cultural heritage is constructed, mobilized, and contested, particularly in relation to tourism, museums, and national identity. He has explored issues of colonial legacies, authenticity, and the ways in which heritage is instrumentalized for economic and political purposes. His work raises questions about who controls narratives of the past and how these narratives shape present identities. He received his PhD and Master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and BA from Brown University.