PROVIDENCE – Rashid Zia, who has served as Brown University’s dean of the college since 2018, will step down from that role on June 30, 2025, and return to teaching at the Ivy League institution.
The university announced Oct. 24 that Zia will teach and conduct research as an engineering and physics professor. Before he returns to teaching, Zia, Brown says, will take a sabbatical year in Japan with his wife and two children before returning to campus for the 2026-27 academic year.
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Brown says Zia achieved multiple accomplishments during his tenure as college dean. Among them was enhancing academic advising, expanding experiential learning and study abroad, increased financial support for students through the Emergency-Gap Funding program and the data-driven policy changes it has enabled. Also, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Zia was instrumental in shaping Brown’s three-semester 2020-21 academic calendar so residential students could safely return to campus to continue their education, while ensuring that students studying remotely received equitable support, Brown said.
“Since his appointment as dean, Rashid has offered a unique blend of academic excellence, visionary leadership and deep, personal commitment to student success,” Brown Provost Francis J. Doyle III said in a statement. “He has been a steadfast advocate for Brown’s distinctive approach to undergraduate education, and his efforts have ensured that our students have the best education to empower them to achieve meaningful lives and careers.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
