Jessica Lang

Jessica Lang was appointed interim dean-designate of the George and Mildred Weissman School of Arts and Sciences in July 2020, and named dean in November 2021; her tenure began on January 1, 2022. Dr. Lang brings a wealth of academic, scholarly, and administrative experience to this position, and is advancing a number of critical initiatives, including flexible course delivery, on-track graduation, and supporting faculty research.

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.