Deborah L. Nelson

Deborah L. Nelson (born 14 December 1962) is an American academic.

Nelson earned her doctorate from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and joined the University of Chicago faculty in 1996. She was appointed the Helen B. and Frank L. Sulzberger Professor of English in 2018. ^{[1] [2]} Her 2017 book, Tough Enough: Arbus, Arendt, Didion, McCarthy, Sontag, Weil won the 2018 James Russell Lowell Prize awarded by the Modern Language Association, ^[3] and the 2019 Gordon J. Laing Award. ^[4]

In 2023, Professor Deborah L. Nelson was appointed dean of the University of Chicago Division of the Humanities. ^[5]

Early life and education

Nelson graduated from Simsbury High School. She graduated from Yale College with a bachelor of arts in English in 1985. She graduated from Columbia University with a masters in English in 1990.

Tenure as Dean of Humanities

In August 2025, Nelson sent out an email to members of the University's Humanities Division stating a pause in graduate admissions for all humanities departments teaching a language other than East Asian Languages and English, as well potentially consildating 15 departments into 8. Nelson has cited budget concerns. ^[6]

References

1. "Deborah Nelson". University of Chicago. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
2. "Three Women Scholars Appointed to Endowed Faculty Chairs". Women in Academia Report. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
3. "UChicago Professor to Receive the MLA's Prestigious James Russell Lowell Prize". University of Chicago. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
4. Wang, Jack (29 April 2019). "UChicago Press awards top honor to Deborah Nelson for 'Tough Enough'". University of Chicago. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
5. "Deborah Nelson appointed dean of UChicago's Division of the Humanities". University of Chicago. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
6. "Chicago Maroon" . Retrieved 12 August 2025.