Springfield College Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Rachel Rubinstein Video Profile

Springfield College officially welcomed Dr. Rachel Rubinstein, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, to the campus on July 12, 2021. Rubinstein recently took some time to discuss how excited she is to join our campus community, and be a part of our Humanics philosophy. 

Rubinstein was Professor of American Literature and Jewish Studies at Hampshire College for sixteen years, where she also served as the Dean of Academic Support and Advising for six years. She subsequently became Holyoke Community College’s inaugural Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs, a position that combined two previously separate divisions. Most recently, she has been serving as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Commissioner of Academic Affairs and Student Success at the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, where she has focused on supporting initiatives in the State’s Equity Agenda.

The child of immigrants from Mexico, her scholarship focuses on migration, multilingualism, racial formation and literary nationalism, as well as on pedagogies in the fields of ethnic and race studies. She is the author of Members of the Tribe: Native America in the Jewish Imagination, as well as the co-editor of Arguing the Modern Jewish Canon and most recently, Teaching Jewish American Literature, a volume in the MLA’s Options for Teaching series.

“I am honored and excited to bring a commitment to student success, innovative and interdisciplinary teaching and research, and student-centered academic leadership to Springfield College and the School of Arts and Sciences,” said Rubinstein.

Rubinstein received her BA from Yale University in English and her PhD from Harvard University in English and American literature.