Search committe directed to find new CAS dean

The College of Arts and Sciences could have a new dean as early as fall 2010.

University Provost Peter Fos, asked 12 members of the faculty to serve on the search committee.

"I want the best available person for the next dean," Dr. Fos said. "Someone who is a good leader, and whose vision for the college is unified with the University."

Fos created the committee after Dr. Alisa White, who served as dean for two and a half years, resigned to accept the position of provost at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.

Fos spoke with each chairman of the ten departments in the College of Arts and Sciences in order to choose an interim dean.

Dr. Kenneth Wink took the post of interim dean on July 16.

Fos asked Dr. James Nelson, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, to chair the search committee.

"The first search committee meeting should be after the first couple weeks of school," Nelson said. "I hope to give the committee's recommendation to the provost before the end of this fall semester."

Nelson said at the first meeting he plans to create with the committee a list of the desirable characteristics they are looking for in the new dean.

The committee plans to create an ad highlighting the University in way that attracts a large qualified pool of candidates to the dean position.

The top five to ten candidates then get interviewed over the phone, Nelson said.

The top three to four candidates from the phone interviews are invited to the University to meet the faculty, students and see the campus, Nelson said.

Then the search committee compiles a recommendation list with the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate and presents it to Dr. Fos, Nelson said.

Fos makes the final candidate recommendation to the president based upon his own observations during the on-campus interviews and the committee's recommendations.

In addition to Nelson, the committee members include Director of Human

Resources Joe Vorsas, ex-officio of the committee; Dr. David Strong, assistant professor of English; Gary Hatcher, chairman of department of art and professor of art; Dr. John Lamb, professor of English; Dr. Lance Williams, associate professor of biology; Dr. Shelly Marmion, professor of psychology and counseling; Dr. Tanya Shtokyo, professor of chemistry; Dr. Thomas Guderjan, professor of anthropology; Dr. William Thrasher, director of the School of Performing Arts and associate professor of music; Dr. Robert Sterken, assistant provost for international programs for academic affairs and associate professor of science; and Dr. Jennifer Mcloud-Mann, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, interim chair of history and associate professor of math.

The communication department is the only department without a representative on the search committee.

Fos said there is no specific reason for this omission. He selected the candidates in order to have a fair representation of the art and science divisions in the college.