Biography

View Nicholas B. Dirks' full curriculum vitae

NICHOLAS B. DIRKS is an internationally recognized historian, anthropologist, and leader in higher education. Well-known for his visionary views about the role of the university both in the US and globally, he has made major contributions in areas ranging from undergraduate education to advanced interdisciplinary research. He has written award winning books on subjects including the history of caste in India and the impact of imperial rule on British history and political theory. He has taught and had top leadership positions at UC Berkeley, Columbia University, the University of Michigan, and Caltech.

In June 2020, Dirks assumed leadership of the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) as President and Chief Executive Officer. Founded in 1817, the New York Academy is among the oldest scientific organizations in the United States, having featured thinkers and innovators from all walks of life, including U.S. Presidents Jefferson and Monroe, Thomas Edison, Charles Darwin, Margaret Mead, and many more. Dirks managed the Academy through the pandemic, converting it for a time into a major source of information about pandemic related issues while stabilizing its finances and increasing its revenues. He has also focused the attention of the Academy on the social, cultural, and behavioral connections with science, launching new programs in neuroscience, translational science, pandemic and climate change preparedness, and artificial intelligence.

Dirks is also a major public intellectual, commenting on issues ranging from the past and future of the American research university to the support and investment required for great science, as well as the ethical and social issues associated with artificial intelligence.  He has written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Time Magazine, Project Syndicate, among many others.  Dirks has appeared on the BBC, NBC, and other major outlets, including numerous podcasts, and has spoken at Davos, the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Commonwealth Club, conferences hosted by The New York Times and The Washington Post, among many other venues.  He also hosts a podcast of his own: Shaping Science with Nick Dirks.

He has published six major books, edited three others, and written numerous essays, articles, and papers. His early books were on Indian history and anthropology as well as on the history of British empire.  His last two books are City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University, and most recently, Worldly Knowledge: the Pasts and Futures of the Global Humanities, both published by Cambridge University Press. 

In November 2012 Dirks was named the 10th Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, where he is still a Professor of History in the Graduate School.  During his time as Chancellor, he launched major initiatives in undergraduate education, Data Science, and arts and design.  He invested in major research collaborations in neuroscience and genetic engineering, built a close working relationship with UCSF, and helped negotiate Berkeley’s participation in the $600m Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. Dirks worked to reform athletic admissions and improve the academic profile of student athletes.  He also appointed the first senior advisor to the Chancellor to guide efforts to combat sexual violence and sexual harassment, and launched an African American initiative. Dirks revamped the development operation (Fundraising 2.0) and presided over record breaking fundraising efforts, while taking on unprecedented challenges around the financial health of the university, spearheading a campus wide discussion around strategic planning.

Between 2004 and 2012, Dirks was the executive vice president for the arts and sciences and dean of the faculty at Columbia University, where he rebuilt departments and strengthened the faculty while launching a host of academic initiatives.  The Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology and History, Dirks joined Columbia in 1997 as chair of the storied anthropology department.  

Dirks received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Wesleyan University and the University of Chicago, respectively.  He has held numerous fellowships and scholarships and received several scholarly honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Foundation residential fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, and the Lionel Trilling Award for his book Castes of Mind. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served on numerous national and international bodies while receiving honorary degrees in Beijing, China, and Chennai, India. He is a Senior Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on numerous boards and advisory committees.