University Times

The committee searching for a new director of the University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) has submitted the names of three finalists to Provost James Maher.

Meanwhile, semi-finalists for the College of General Studies (CGS) deanship have begun visiting campus.

The following is an update on those and other Pitt administrative searches.

UCSUR director The search committee gave Provost Maher the names of three unranked finalists on Dec. 3, said committee chairperson George E. Klinzing. He declined to identify the finalists.

The senior administration is expected to announce the new director by the end of January, said Klinzing, who is vice provost for Research.

The committee limited its search to Pitt personnel.

Richard Schultz has been UCSUR interim director since August 1995, when Vijai Singh left as director to become associate chancellor (on an interim basis at first, under then-interim Chancellor Mark Nordenberg).

UCSUR is a University-wide center that conducts and facilitates interdisciplinary research on regional and national issues of public policy.

CGS dean Three semi-finalists have visited Pitt for interviews, and the search committee plans to bring the remaining three to campus soon, said committee chairperson Jack L. Daniel.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to submit the names of three or four unranked finalists to the provost by the end of this month," said Daniel, who is vice provost for Academic Affairs.

"This is a very strong pool of candidates," he said. "Three of the six are sitting deans right now of programs comparable to CGS" ‹ that is, academic units that primarily serve non-traditional students and that specialize in continuing education, summer sessions and certificate programs.

The six semi-finalists include three men and three women, and more than one is African-American, according to Daniel. None of the six is from Pitt, he said.

Daniel said he hopes the new dean will be named in February and can start work here July 1. Daniel has a personal motive for hoping the process moves quickly: He has been interim dean of CGS since fall 1997, and says the deanship has kept him from devoting as much attention as he would like to his vice provost duties.

General counsel "The University will seriously launch a search later this month" for a new, permanent general counsel, said Mary Jo Race, executive assistant to Chancellor Nordenberg.

The general counsel is Pitt's chief in-house lawyer.

Executive Vice Chancellor Jerome Cochran has directed the Office of General Counsel since Lewis Popper resigned as general counsel, effective March 1, 1998.

Law school dean The search committee hopes to start reviewing applications in February, said Joan Cutone of the Provost's office.

So far, she said, the search committee has received 24 outside applications and nominations, plus names of 49 candidates suggested by committee members and Pitt law faculty.

Feb. 1 is the official deadline for applying for the job, although the committee will continue to accept applications and nominations after that date, said Cutone, who is providing staff support for the search.

Cutone said several Pitt law professors and search committee members, including chairperson Robert Pack, are in New Orleans meeting with candidates during the American Association of Law Schools' annual meeting, Jan. 6-10. Pack is vice provost for Academic Planning and Resources Management.

The Pitt law school's associate dean for Academic Affairs, David J. Herring, has been interim dean since July 1, when Peter Shane resigned.

‹Bruce Steele and Peter Hart