Ofer Harel, professor of statistics, has been appointed as Dean of the UConn College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) for a three-year term. He will oversee the University’s largest and broadest college, serving more than 10,000 undergraduates, 1,700 graduate students, and 950 faculty and staff at the Storrs, Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, and Waterbury campuses.

The decision comes after an extensive review process by a University review committee and feedback from College faculty, staff, administrators, and students.

Harel has demonstrated strong advocacy for CLAS and commitment to fostering groundbreaking research and academic excellence, and his leadership has been pivotal in strengthening the connections among UConn’s schools and colleges, says Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Anne D’Alleva.

“Throughout our time working together, I have been impressed by Dean Harel’s commitment to serving the faculty, staff and students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,” D’Alleva says. “His leadership will be critical in navigating many complex issues over the next several years, and I look forward to our work together in support of UConn’s mission.”

Harel has served as Interim Dean of CLAS since July 2023. In that time, he has overseen the appointment of 12 department, school, and unit heads and leaders and has guided the creation of the Department of Geography, Sustainability, Community, and Urban Studies and the Department of Social and Critical Inquiry.

He has also spearheaded a pioneering cluster hire in artificial intelligence and machine learning, which will bring faculty to UConn who connect AI researchers across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

“I am grateful to the review committee and to Provost D’Alleva for their continued support and their trust in my leadership, and I look forward to leading the College in the coming years,” says Harel.

Prior to his role as Interim Dean, Harel was Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Affairs in CLAS and Director of Graduate Admissions in the Department of Statistics. He has contributed to national committees such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) study sections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Technical Advisory Committee, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics.

Harel’s research spans a spectrum of statistics, including missing data techniques, diagnostic tests, longitudinal studies, Bayesian methods, and mixture models. His collaborative work includes critical research areas such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, cancer, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, health disparities, anti-racism, and substance abuse prevention.

Harel earned his Ph.D. in statistics from The Pennsylvania State University and completed post-doctoral training at the University of Washington. There, he worked with the Health Services Research and Development Center of Excellence at the Veterans’ Affairs Puget Sound Healthcare System and the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center.

The review committee comprised Vice Provost and Dean Kent Holsinger, Professor of Chemistry Douglas Adamson, Professor and Head of Social and Critical Inquiry Jason Chang, Allison Goldsnider of CLAS Grants Management, Dean of the Hartford Campus Mark Overmyer-Velazquez, Professor of Statistics Nalini Ravishanker, and Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences Marlene Schwartz.