Nicole Sampson

Nicole Sampson is dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. She started in the role August 7, 2023.

As dean, Sampson handles matters relating to the arts and humanities, social sciences, and natural and physical sciences. She oversees the school’s 18 departments and 12 programs and will lead the development and implementation of a strategic plan that aligns with the greater goals of the University.

Sampson came to the role from her position as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Stony Brook University, where she served in numerous capacities over the course of three decades. During her time as dean, she oversaw the development of curriculum and research agendas for multiple programs; the creation of channels for interdisciplinary collaboration; and efforts to support diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.

Sampson also heads a research laboratory where she focuses on the molecular intricacies of mammalian fertilization, methods for precision synthesis of polymers, and finding new treatments for tuberculosis and cholera. Her work has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1995.

Sampson earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Harvey Mudd College and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and held an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University. Her honors and awards include the Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award, a National Science Foundation CAREER award, the American Chemical Society’s Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award and Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry, and the Research Foundation for SUNY Research and Scholarship Award. She is a fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study and of the American Chemical Society.