Bermann, Nunokawa appointed as masters

Both will begin serving four-year terms in July.

Reclaiming mastership

Bermann, a comparative literature professor, served as chair of the department from 1998 to 2010 and specializes in literary theory, translation and poetry. She is currently in Paris for the year working on a biography of Rene Char, a French poet and member of the French Resistance during World War II.

“My experience as a professor here has given me real insight into student lives both in and outside the classroom,” Bermann said in an e-mail, adding that the many University committees that she has participated in have given her perspectives that are “broader than that of a single department.”

Bermann has served on more than a dozen committees since she came to the University in 1976, including the Sixth College Committee in 2000-01 which laid plans for Whitman College. When Whitman opened in 2007, she was named a faculty fellow at the college.

“Sandie Bermann is a very skillful and diplomatic administrator,” said comparative literature professor Peter Brooks, who has served as a residential college master at Yale’s Pierson College.

Bermann most recently served as head of the working group created by President Shirley Tilghman in spring 2008 to explore the creation of the Bridge Year Program, which sent its inaugural cohort of 20 students abroad in 2009-10.

Comparative literature professor Caryl Emerson said in an e-mail that she appreciates Bermann’s inclusiveness and ability to handle stress.

“The mastership of a college is at least as complex and time-consuming as chairing an academic department: What both have in common is a mass of non-generalizable human particulars, each requiring intelligent attention and a smile,” Emerson said. “Sandie Bermann will provide it intuitively.”

Bermann said her new role will be a challenge, despite her experience serving from 1984 to 1992 as master of Stevenson Hall, a University-operated dining hall on Prospect Avenue that provided an alternative meal option to eating clubs.

“Times have changed — in the world and here on campus,” Bermann said. “When I was master, for instance, the four-year colleges were still only a dream, so I’ll have many things to learn as I begin my work.”

Looking ahead to her term, Bermann said she will focus on listening carefully to the staff and faculty “who know Whitman best.”

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“It seems to me that Harvey Rosen has done an excellent job as Whitman’s first master,” Bermann said. “I’ll want to build on the strong sense of community he has established.”

Rosen, an economics professor who previously chaired President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers, will step down as Whitman’s first master in June.

“[Rosen] literally invented Whitman College, with all the programs and activities that make our newest residential college so distinctive,” Malkiel said. “Professor Bermann will build on this excellent foundation to lead Whitman into its second four years.”

‘Intellectual and Social Joy’

An English professor specializing in 19th-century British literature, Nunokawa called his tenure so far “one of the greatest blessings of my life.” Most enjoyable for him is “the chance to draw out the most joyful and best parts of the hearts and minds of the students,” he said.

“Right now it is really great to know that I can go to the dining hall at any time and help be part of creating a great deal of intellectual and social joy,” Nunokawa said. “To create a community where everybody feels like they belong, where they have a place at the table, often literally. That’s what’s important.”

Deignan praised Nunokawa for cultivating a distinct sense of community within Rockefeller and his accessibility to students. Nunokawa maintains a Facebook account and has more than 1,600 friends, many of them University students. He is known for his frequent notes, in which he often tags students.

“From his effervescent personality to his constant caring for students to his innovative uses of the master’s house, Jeff has been a great fit for Rocky, and we are thrilled to have this continue for four more years,” Dean of Rockefeller College Oliver Avens said. Nunokawa often invites students to his house, and he is hosting a New Year’s party for Rockefeller seniors on Friday.

Malkiel also spoke highly of Nunokawa’s immersion in student life.

“He is in the dining room all the time, and he sees students formally and informally at college events and at their events outside the college,” she said in an e-mail. “He is intensely committed to his students and knows them very, very well.”

Nunokawa said he hopes to build on many of the positive trends of his first term, including maintaining an open dialogue with students. In particular, he said, he can do more to strengthen the interaction between students and his college’s resident faculty fellows.

“If you indicate to students that a certain amount of irreverence is fine, that they don’t always have to be politically correct,” he said, “it makes possible the kind of community where they don’t think that [the administration] is just the police and I’m just the policeman.”