Peter Andreas, professor of political science and international studies, was named interim director of the Watson Institute for International Studies, according to an email from the Office of the Provost Wednesday. The Watson Institute was expected to name a new permanent director by the end of the year, as current Interim Director Carolyn Dean will step down as planned from the post in July.
Andreas will be the institute's sixth leader in eight years.
The announcement follows an extended search process that narrowed the candidate pool to three finalists in April. None of those candidates were selected for the position, and the search for a permanent director will continue.
"Although the several candidates we interviewed were excellent, none of them were a perfect fit," said Provost Mark Schlissel P'15. "Our goal is to get an outstanding person."
In his email, Schlissel wrote that he plans to form a faculty advisory committee later this spring and convene a search committee for the upcoming academic year.
Schlissel said he consulted President-elect Christina Paxson before recommending Andreas, noting her experience in the area as dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton. Paxson's recent appointment could also draw candidates for the continuing search, he added.
"Some candidates might hesitate putting themselves forward, not knowing who Brown's future president is going to be," Schlissel said of the past semester's applicant pool.
Andreas also referenced Paxson's academic experience. Paxson "will be the best news for the Watson Institute in a long time," he said.
"From the Watson Institute's perspective, we could not have hoped for a better fit for a president," he said.
Meanwhile, Andreas will take over an organization that has seen varied leadership.
"It's definitely not ideal to have an interim (director)," Schlissel said. "We're trying our best while maintaining these high standards."
Andreas highlighted the "extraordinary" work of current faculty but stressed the need for more faculty growth at the institute.
"Basically, we've been in a kind of holding mode or even shrinking mode in the last few years," Andreas said of the size of the faculty. "One would like to think that with a permanent director coming in, Watson will start to grow."
"One of the big tasks (as interim director) will be figuring out ways to move the place forward and foster an exciting, interesting, active intellectual climate without making long term commitments or changes that would somehow constrain the future director," he said.
Laura Sadovnikoff, associate program director of Brown International Advanced Research Institutes, said the selection of an another interim director is "not surprising," adding that some faculty members had hoped an internal candidate would be selected.
Students, who had not been informed of the selection, had mixed reactions.
"When you have a lot of interim directors in a row, you don't get to have any sort of institutionalized memory with any given organization," said Austin Whittaker '14, an international relations concentrator. "Having that sort of permanent position set up would have a positive impact on stability as well as attracting students to the IR program."
