Professor of History at Trinity College Gary Kates has been selected as the new Dean of the College and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Pomona. His appointment will not be formalized until it is confirmed by the Board of Trustees, but President Peter Stanley indicated that he expects this to be merely a formality, as the Trustees were involved throughout the selection process.

Courtesy of Kates New Dean of the College Gary Kates stands with his bike in Paris.

Current Dean of the College Hans Palmer will step down from the position on June 30, and Kates will start as soon after that as he can, according to Stanley. Associate Deans of the College Shariar Shariari and Patricia Smiley will aid in the transition. "I think a majority of faculty and the community wanted Kates and I think he’s the right person for the job," Stanley said. "He seemed to combine a seriousness of purpose with candor and great personal warmth. This was the best dean search I’ve ever been a part of, due to the six faculty members on the committee. This is Pomona College at its absolute best."

The student panel that interviewed each candidate for the post was also enthusiastic about Kates. In a report submitted to the faculty committee, the student members unanimously ranked Kates as their number one choice. The panel brainstormed a list of questions for each candidate, on issues including the PAC system, the Media Studies program, and ethnic studies programs on campus. They also asked the candidates what level of interaction with students they felt would be necessary for the job. Communications Commisioner Richard Sun ’01 put together the student panel.

" [Kates] responded very well. He spoke his mind. He came across as very sincere. A lot of his opinions were the unpopular response with students, but he gave reasons that made sense," Sun said.

Kates comes to Pomona College with extensive experience as a teacher and academic. He began teaching history at Trinity as an assistant professor in 1980. Since then he has served as the chair of Trinity’s history department from 1995 to 1998, and from 1999 until the present he served as Trinity’s Interim Dean for Humanities and Arts in addition to his academic work. For a brief period in the late seventies he also taught history at Pitzer College.

Kates’ academic specialty is the history of France during the eighteenth century, and his articles on the French Revolution and other events of the period have been published in numerous journals including the Journal of Family History, the Journal of the History of Ideas, and French Historical Studies. Kates also served for a time on the Editorial Board of French Historical Studies and the Trinity University Press.

Kates has written two books on French history: Monsieur d’Eon Is a Woman: A Tale of Political Intrigue and Sexual Masquerade, and The Cercle Social, the Girondins, and the French Revolution. Kates has received a number of honors and awards from Trinity College as well as various historical societies, including the Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentor Award of the American Historical Association.

Kates has also been active in community service through the Temple Beth-El of San Antonio and other local religious organizations.