David Zheng, Senior Photographer

On Aug. 1, Bárbara Cruvinel Santiago ’17 started her role as the new dean of Berkeley College. 

Cruvinel Santiago completed her doctorate in physics in 2023 at Columbia. She previously attended Yale for her undergraduate degree where she majored in physics and was a member of Pierson College. In conversations with the News, Berkeley students expressed excitement and support for the new dean.  

“She is very compassionate, eager to establish connections with everyone, and has always been a great support to the FroCo team,” Charmaine Bayalan ’25, a current first-year counselor in Berkeley, wrote to the News. “I think that they made a great choice in appointing her as Berkeley’s new Dean and us FroCos and the entire Berkeley community are very lucky to have her.” 

Cruvinel Santiago’s appointment came after the role was vacant for three months after Dean Brianne Bilsky stepped down. 

At Yale, Cruvinel Santiago was involved in several campus organizations, including Yale Women in Physics, the Yale Science and Quantitative Reasoning Education Program as a peer mentor and the Office of International Students and Scholars as a peer liaison. 

In recent years, Cruvinel Santiago has conducted post-doctoral research at Stanford University, focusing on research supporting nuclear non-proliferation efforts. She has also done graduate research at Columbia and at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

This year at Yale, Cruvinel Santiago has already familiarized herself with the Berkeley community through events like capture the flag and “Taste of Brazil,” a Dean’s Office welcome celebration, and scheduling one-on-one lunch meetings with students.

Cruvinel Santiago hosts hybrid drop-in hours four times a week for Berkeley students, as well as “Pawffice Hours” weekly with her dog, an English cream golden retriever named Fubá.

“She’s made a good point of telling people to stop by … she has made herself more present, like in the courtyard where you can pet her dog. It gives an avenue to humanizing her,” Maya Alvear ’25, a Berkeley FroCo, said.

Kyan Ramsay ’27, a member of the Berkeley College Council, wrote to the News that he’s often seen Cruvinel Santiago getting to know students individually in the dining hall and other Berkeley spaces. 

Ramsay also mentioned that though the Berkeley College Council primarily works with the head of college, Cruvinel Santiago has shown up for many of the council’s events and encouraged people to get involved.

Henry Hoak ’28, a first-year Berkeley student, said that he can relate to Cruvinel Santiago strongly because she is a recent Yale College graduate and thinks “it is exciting that [they] are both starting new journeys at Yale at the same time.” 

Alvear emphasized that because Cruvinel Santiago attended Yale and was knowledgeable of the FroCo system through her affiliation with Pierson College, she’s been especially supportive of the Berkeley FroCo team. 

Bayalan and the rest of the Berkeley FroCos got to know Cruvinel Santiago during FroCo training prior to the academic year. Bayalan recalled that Cruvinel Santiago made their 12-hour training sessions more lively by making the FroCos shirts and stickers and constantly exuding positive energy. 

“She made it a point to emphasize to us that we didn’t have to only be a FroCo and not a student, we needed to take care of ourselves too and prioritize our own time,” Alvear told the News. “So I think she really cares about the students, just in the things that she said and the way that she supported the FroCo’s. I’m sure that will extend to everyone.”

Cruvinel Santiago was not available to comment for the article. 

Berkeley College is located at 205 Elm St.