Notre Dame names dean for College of Arts and Letters
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A professor and dean at Yale University has been named the I.A. O’Shaughnessy dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame.
Kenneth Scheve, a Notre Dame alum, begins a five-year term on July 1. He also will hold a tenured faculty position in the political science department.
“Ken Scheve is a renowned political scientist and experienced administrator with a deep commitment to our Catholic mission,” Notre Dame President the Rev. Robert Dowd said in a news release. “His global perspective, commitment to interdisciplinary research and collaborative leadership style make him the ideal person to serve as dean of Notre Dame’s oldest and largest college at this point in the university’s history.”
Scheve, the dean of social science at Yale, studies the domestic and international governance of modern capitalism, Notre Dame said. His research examines inequality and redistribution, the politics of globalization, the social and political consequences of long-run economic change, and climate politics.
He has received a host of scholarly awards, and his research has been published in leading journals. He is a co-author of “Taxing the Rich: A History of Fiscal Fairness in the United States and Europe” and “Globalization and the Perceptions of American Workers.”
“For many, attending Notre Dame is a transformative experience, and it certainly was for me — it helped shape my values, deepened my curiosity about the world and instilled invaluable habits of mind,” Scheve said. “I have a deep appreciation for what a Catholic liberal arts education can mean in someone’s life. I’m truly honored to return in a role where I can contribute to that in a meaningful way and support the outstanding work of the college’s departments and faculty.”
At Notre Dame, Scheve majored in economics. He worked as a Morgan Stanley financial analyst for two years and taught math at a Kansas City high school before going on to earn a doctorate in political science from Harvard University.
In addition to Yale, Scheve held faculty positions at the University of Michigan and Stanford University.
“In an exceptionally competitive pool, Ken rose to the top,” John T. McGreevy, Notre Dame’s Charles and Jill Fischer provost, said in the news release.
The appreciation was mutual.
“The moment I saw this opportunity, I felt a real spark,” Scheve said. “It brings together everything I’ve worked on — as a teacher, scholar and administrator — and brings it to bear on a mission that I’m really passionate about.”