Mohsen Mostafavi, Intl. Assoc. AIA, who has served as Harvard University's Graduate School of Design (GSD) dean since 2008, will be ending his time in the role at the end of this school year. He plans to take a year sabbatical and then return to his position as a member of the faculty. University president Larry Bacow and provost Alan Garber "plan to launch the search for a new dean soon," according to a post on the university's news website.
"Although I have had the chance to work directly with Mohsen for only a short time," Bacow writes in an emailed statement, "I know from my years on the Corporation how much his leadership has contributed to strengthening the Design School over more than a decade—and how much he has done to elevate the role of design within Harvard more broadly."
In a letter posted to GSD's website, Mostafavi highlighted the school's successes in collaborating with other university programs as well as a capital campaign. "Over the coming months, I look forward to our working together and to continuing our commitment to new opportunities that will make design an even more indispensable part of Harvard and beyond," he writes.
Mohsen Mostafavi, dean of @HarvardGSD since January 2008, announced that he will step down from the position at the end of the 2018-19 academic year https://t.co/aXYttNDGyi
— Harvard University (@Harvard) October 24, 2018
