Nancy Hill, Rendall Howell Announced as New Currier Faculty Deans

Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Nancy E. Hill and her husband Rendall Howell will serve as Currier House’s next faculty deans, College Dean David J. Deming announced in an email to House affiliates Wednesday morning.

Hill has nearly two decades of experience at Harvard, joining the faculty in 2009. In addition to teaching at HGSE, she has also served as a professor and fellow at the Radcliffe Institute.

A development psychologist, Hill studies parenting and adolescent development and has taught a first-year seminar at Harvard in recent years called “#Adulting,” which focuses on the transition into adulthood.

Hill and Howell will assume their roles on July 1 and move into the Currier House this summer, along with their 14-year-old son, according to Deming’s email.

The incoming deans said they were eager to connect with students through long-standing House traditions, conversations in the dining hall, and intramural basketball in an email to Currier residents.

“We love to learn about the cultures and places that people call home through travel, reading, and listening,” they wrote. “We look forward to hearing your stories and sharing our own.”

Howell, a financial technology professional, serves alongside Hill as a faculty director of Harvard’s Graduate Commons program, which aims to foster a sense of belonging for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, staff, and their families living in Harvard-affiliated housing.

Prior to joining the University, both Hill and Howell served as faculty-in-residence for a freshman dorm at Duke University.

In his announcement, Deming lauded the incoming deans for their support of different viewpoints.

“They have demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement and believe that an essential part of community-building is ensuring that all perspectives are encouraged, valued, and discussed,” he wrote.

The current Currier faculty deans, Sylvia I. Barrett and Latanya A. Sweeney, announced in a September email that they would step down at the end of the academic year. Barrett and Sweeney have served as faculty deans for 10 years, the maximum term allowed for the position.

In his email to House affiliates, Deming thanked Barrett and Sweeney for their service.

“Their commitment to the Currier community knows no bounds,” he wrote.

—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784.

—Staff writer Summer E. Rose can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @summerellenrose.