Richard Saller served as the Vernon R. and Lysbeth Warren Anderson Dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences from  April 2007 - August 2018.

Dean Saller came to Stanford from the University of Chicago, where he served as provost. He has a PhD from the University of Cambridge and a bachelor of arts degree in Greek and history from the University of Illinois. In 2005, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

"Richard Saller has displayed both exceptional talent as provost and astute intelligence as a scholar of the humanities at the University of Chicago," Stanford University President John Hennessy said upon appointing Saller. "He comes to Stanford at a time of particular significance for H&S and the entire university, given the critical role of the humanities and sciences in everything the university does. We are extraordinarily pleased that he will join us in these efforts."

Saller’s research has concentrated on Roman social and economic history, in particular patronage relations, the family and the imperial economy. He uses literary, legal and epigraphic materials to investigate issues of social hierarchy, gender distinctions and economic production with the aid of current social science theory. He taught at the University of Chicago beginning in 1984, became dean of the Social Sciences Division in 1994, and provost in 2002. Prior to Chicago, he was an assistant professor at Swarthmore College. He has held visiting professorships and fellowships at the University of California, Berkeley and Jesus College, Cambridge.

He is the author of several books, including Patriarchy, Property and Death in the Roman Family and Personal Patronage Under the Early Empire.