The search for a new dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design (GSD) came to an end on August 10 with the announcement that the school had nabbed Mohsen Mostafavi, who is currently the dean of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York.

Although Mostafavi’s time at Cornell was relatively brief—he arrived in 2004 having previously served as chairman of London’s Architectural Association—he compiled an impressive record of achievements. Pushing forward what had been a beleaguered, twice-stalled plan for an expansion of the college’s building, Mostafavi commissioned Rem Koolhaas’s OMA to design Paul Milstein Hall, as it is now called. He also opened a new satellite space in New York City, providing students with the opportunity to take classes and intern with firms there. Mostafavi inaugurated the school's post-professional Masters of Architecture II degree—which provides a graduate program tailored for students with a bachelor's degree of architecture—recruited several international faculty members, and tripled the amount of money raised by the college each year for its building campaign and other programs.