Navigating the cosmos: David Gerdes charts his course as the new College of Arts and Sciences dean
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the summer 2025 edition of art/sci. Read more from this issue.
When David Gerdes interviewed to be chair of the University of Michigan’s physics department, no one asked how he’d handle campus repercussions from a global crisis. But 13 months into leading the 50-faculty-member department, Gerdes grappled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden pivot to online instruction and remote learning.
“Crisis management isn’t an interruption of leadership—it’s a big part of the job and an important part of one’s legacy,” said Gerdes, now dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.
The Hudson, Ohio, native arrived on campus in March—and immediately faced another inflection point as colleges and universities around the country adjusted after a series of federal orders and actions involving research funding, campus programs and international students and scholars.
But Gerdes’ temperament, style and experience are well suited to leading amid both challenging seas and exciting opportunities. “I’m the kind of person who would rather be in leadership during times of crisis,” he said. “I want to be in a position to guide the college through this very difficult period and help us emerge stronger.”
He arrived at CWRU after extensive accomplishments as a researcher, teacher and leader.
Gerdes is a physicist with the kind of curiosity that first led him to study the tiniest subatomic particles and then shift to examining the largest scales of the cosmos. He’s an educator committed to developing novice researchers into published scientists. And he’s comfortable in his own skin; a collaborative leader who, soon after arriving on campus, began meeting individually with the college’s 21 academic department chairs—not in his office, but in their work environments.
“His experience in leading a complex department at a large institution has prepared him well to navigate the complexity, as well as the richness, of our College of Arts and Sciences,” said Joy K. Ward, PhD, CWRU’s provost and former dean of the college. “On a personal note, David is among the most genuine and thoughtful individuals whom I have met in higher education. His dedication to fostering collaboration and his deep care for the success and growth of students, faculty and staff make him an exceptional choice to lead our college into its next chapter.”
