Chemist to chemist: Welcoming Deborah C. Tahmassebi as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences—and thanking W. Atom Yee for a decade at the helm.
Atom Yee. Photo by Charles Barry.
News from the College of Arts and Sciences: SCU welcomes Deborah C. Tahmassebi, who begins duties as dean in August. She’s in charge of academic, administrative, and financial leadership for the college, which provides liberal arts curriculum to all undergrads. Tahmassebi is an organic chemist with interests in the synthesis and structural studies of molecules. She arrives from University of San Diego, where she has been on the faculty since 1999. At Santa Clara she takes the helm from fellow chemist W. Atom Yee, who has led for a decade as dean and returns to the faculty for teaching and scholarship. After much of the academic year away from campus while he was undergoing cancer treatment, Yee eased back into work this spring. Blessedly, tests show the cancer is gone. He and his family have been in the hearts and prayers of many, and we’re grateful to have him back. As Yee would be quick to say, the work he does is for students. Among them are four Fulbrighters form the college this year: theatre majors Ty Van Herweg ’15 and Jeff Moran ’04, istory major and music minor Genevieve (Jenny) Kromm ’13, and economics major and international business minor Keyra Galvan ’13.