University Times

Sept. 26 is the official deadline to apply for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) deanship. And already, the chairperson of the FAS dean search committee says he feels "very satisfied" with the applications and nominations that have come in so far– although he emphasized that the committee is eager for more of both.

"Going into the search, we had no way of knowing what kind of response we would get. But I'm happy, and somewhat relieved, to say the response has been excellent, both in terms of quality and number of candidates," said committee chairperson Edward Stricker, who chairs Pitt's neuroscience department.

By the end of this month, the search committee plans to select 12-15 candidates to interview during October. "At this point, it looks as though we already have enough highly qualified candidates for the first round of interviews," Stricker said. "And who knows who we might hear from between now and the deadline?" (Like most administrative search committees, the FAS committee will consider exceptionally qualified candidates who apply after the official deadline — "as long as it's not too long after the deadline," Stricker said.) Stricker was admittedly vague about the applicant pool. "Plenty" of highly qualified people, representing various arts and sciences disciplines, have applied, he said. "Some" of the applicants currently work at Pitt, Stricker added, and it is "most likely" that the first cut of 12-15 people will include one or more internal candidates.

Applications have come in from around the country and even from a few U.S. citizens living abroad, he said.

Stricker estimated that 20 percent of the applications so far have come from women ("That's just based on first names that tend to be exclusively female," Stricker noted), but he said he couldn't make even an educated guess about minority representation.

"The University does get information on the number of applicants who are minorities, through forms that candidates may fill out if they wish. But that information isn't passed along" to the search committee, Stricker said.

"Two things the applicants have in common are solid academic credentials and experience as administrators," he said. "They all look pretty good, at least on paper." Stricker said the committee will do thorough background checks, talking with candidates' current and former colleagues.

The committee plans to pick 6-8 semi-finalists from the initial group of 12-15, and bring those semi-finalists to campus for meetings at FAS departments in late November or early December.

At that point, the remaining candidates' names will be public information. But committee members have been told not to reveal candidates' names prior to the semi-finalist stage, Stricker said.

Provost James Maher has asked the search committee to recommend 3-5 finalists by Feb. 1, 1998, although Stricker said the committee hopes to finish its work by the end of 1997. "It's the committee's job to find 3-5 candidates who look terrific. It's Jim Maher's job to hire the best person," Stricker pointed out.

"The provost has told us he will pick up the ball as soon as we pass it on to him, or whatever the appropriate sports metaphor is," Stricker added.

Depending on candidates' availability, the new dean could start work here as early as July 1, 1998, he said.

At a Sept. 5 open hearing sponsored by the search committee, Stricker urged the University community to continue nominating candidates, sending letters or e-mail messages supporting individual candidates, and sharing ideas on qualities the committee should seek in a new dean. Such messages may be sent in writing to Stricker at 479 Crawford Hall or at the following e-mail address: stricker@bns.pitt.edu "It's not just this committee that is searching for a new dean of FAS. It's the whole University," Stricker said.

Other than search committee members, only two members of the University attended last week's hearing: L. Deane Root of the music department, who said he came to hear what other faculty members had to say, and Thomas Metzger of the mathematics and statistics department, who expressed concern that the search might overemphasize candidates' qualifications as fundraisers.

"Fund raising is important, but it shouldn't be the most important thing" in hiring a new dean, Metzger said. "First and foremost, the dean should be an academician." Stricker agreed. "Fund raising is not the critical feature in this search," he said. But unlike previous FAS dean searches, this one specifies that fund raising will be among the dean's responsibilities, Stricker noted. "It's not the first priority, however," he said.

— Bruce Steele