Katherine and John Simpson Endowed Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
As Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, Daryl Maeda is primarily responsible for establishing and implementing a vision and strategic priorities for the College, and for stewardship of the College’s resources. Keeping the University of Washington’s mission at the center of his work, Maeda strives to ensure that students, staff, and faculty throughout the College can thrive and succeed. He works collaboratively with the four divisional deans, members of his Dean’s Office leadership team, department chairs and directors, and other staff and faculty to support the very best liberal arts education and a research enterprise that has a positive impact on the lives of all those in our region and beyond.
Maeda’s role includes providing leadership and guidance for undergraduate and graduate education, a research enterprise that averages $130 million annually, fundraising for the College, and supporting infrastructure throughout the College. He feels honored to hold this position and regards it as an opportunity to give back and to lift up others through leadership.
A professor of American ethic studies, Maeda began his appointment as dean on July 13, 2026. He was previously dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, a college of similar size and breadth, where he led a collaborative process that created the college’s budget allocation model. Under his leadership, CU Boulder’s College of Arts & Sciences established new records for first-year retention and six-year graduate rates and set a record for the highest annual fundraising in the college’s history.
Prior to his CU Boulder deanship, Maeda served in other leadership roles there, including chair of the Department of Ethnic Studies, associate dean for student success in the College of Arts and Sciences, and dean and vice provost of undergraduate education.