Biography

Jessica Lang, Dean of The Weissman School of Arts and Sciences

Jessica Lang, PhD, served as Interim Dean of the George and Mildred Weissman School of Arts and Sciences beginning in July 2020 and was named Dean in February 2022. Dr. Lang brings a wealth of academic, scholarly, and administrative experience to this position. As interim dean, she has focused on a number of critical initiatives, including diversity, equity, and inclusion; flexible course delivery; on-track graduation; supporting faculty research, and managing services and needs that arise in the distance learning environment.

Formerly chair and professor in the Department of English, Dr. Lang joined Baruch in 2004 as an assistant professor of English. Her areas of specialization span early American fiction and Jewish American and Holocaust literature. Her numerous publications include Textual Silence: Unreadability and the Holocaust and Off the Derech: Leaving Orthodox Judaism. Dr. Lang is the founding Newman Director of Baruch’s Sandra Kahn Wasserman Jewish Studies Center.

As department chair, Dr. Lang created a peer mentoring program for pre-tenure faculty members as part of a larger effort to support and recognize faculty accomplishments. To expand students’ horizons, she developed a “micro-study abroad” program for January Intersession. Her Baruch accolades include the 2017 Presidential Excellence Award for Distinguished Teaching. She holds a BA from Cornell University, an MA from Washington University in St. Louis, and a PhD from Brandeis University. She served as a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University before joining the Baruch faculty.