By SHANNON O. WELLS
A theme that emerged during a recent forum regarding the search for a new Swanson School of Engineering dean is the need, not just for a long-term vision, but one with a focused plan and resources that bring it to fruition.
“I’m going to be honest, I’m tired of having one-hour meetings and saying, ‘That’s a really good idea. We should do that!’ and never talking about it again,” said Mike McConegly, administrator for the engineering school’s Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science. “And then, guess what, in six months, we’ll have that same conversation. We have to have someone at the top who’s going to drive it and say, ‘Hey, that IS a good idea. And I want to make sure we start working toward that.’”
Longer-range plans require investment up front, he added. “You can’t just say, ‘This is what we want to do in five years, and then just tell everyone just go do more work for nothing (further). … There has to be an expectation that if we’re going to come up with a long-term plan that we have to actually put resources in doing that.”
Moderated by Steve Wisniewski, vice provost for budget and analytics, the forum, held in 102 Benedum Hall along with a remote option, was open to the entire community— including Pitt alumni and friends — who were invited to take part and share feedback through a survey about the next dean.
Wisniewski and Adam Leibovich, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences dean, co-chair the 14-member search team, several of whom attended the forum. The team is composed of faculty, students and staff elected from their peers in the engineering school, along with appointments from the Office of the Provost.
Representatives from Park Square Executive Search firm, who are helping draft the job-description document and develop what Wisniewski called a “diverse and well-rounded pool of candidates,” also were on hand.
The listening session was intended to “get the community’s input in how we form and create the job description,” he added. “We really want to engage the community to get your feedback and talk about the experiences we want to see, the characteristics we want to see, in the next dean of the Swanson School of Engineering.”
Sanjeev Shroff took over as interim dean of the school in summer 2022, replacing James Martin, who served as dean for four years. Martin now is vice chancellor for STEM research and innovation in the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research. The search for a permanent dean was delayed until Chancellor Joan Gabel started in July.
Wisniewski, in summing up the desired qualifications and traits shared in previous meetings, said the dean candidate should be “an experienced leader that has done this before … somebody who’s interested in and has a grasp — an understanding — of interdisciplinarity that is needed for the position, and (evidence) somewhere in that track record that they actually delivered.”
Rather than “just vision talk,” he added, “It was like, they had the vision, and they delivered on that vision.”
While acknowledging the school’s strengths, some forum participants expressed concern about Swanson’s financial position and the new leader’s ability to overcome long-building challenges to stability and morale.
“I think we have an excellent young cadre of faculty — and a lot of them are seeing exciting results from their research — but I think we have to be honest with the candidates about … the challenges we face right now, financial-resource wise,” said Robert Enick, professor of chemical engineering and assistant chair of research. “We’ve lost a lot of discretionary funding … the new person coming in (will have to) go fight for those reasons.
“And again, it could be raising money from donors and those type of things, and raising money internally, but they’re going to have to work every single day and fight,” he said, adding there’s a departmental “apathy” to be overcome. “It’s going to be difficult for someone new to come in and generate an espirit de corps that everyone wants to go fight.”
Enick said he disagrees with interim Provost Joe McCarthy’s assessment in a previous dean search-related meeting that the engineering school is a “gem.”
“Well, for those of us that work in this building, especially during those four years, we sure as hell are not treated like a gem,” he said, noting that financial and morale problems are “probably the two biggest (challenges).”
A 1980 Pitt graduate who's been a faculty member since 1985, Enick shared his “love” for the school and wanting to “see the best work,” but emphasized the new dean “needs to know the challenges,” he said. “I know you don’t want to advertise challenges, but they’re there.”
Carla Ng, associate professor in the Swanson School, emphasized the need to focus on faculty retention. “I think that because we have been very successful in recruiting phenomenal people … the new dean will have to have a really solid plan on retention,” she said. “Because I think the recruiting is there. It’s the retention where we maybe need to do a lot of work to think about how to make staying be attractive.”
Several other universities, including Penn State, Carnegie Mellon, Kansas, North Carolina and Michigan, are also seeking engineering deans. Wisniewski acknowledged the challenge the timing presents — specifically for having a new dean in place by July 1, 2024.
“And that’s one of the reasons we’re trying to get out there and get out there fast, as timeline is what matters here,” he said. “Somebody who’s going to come to Pitt versus Michigan, there’s two different types of jobs. So you’ve got to find the right person for the right job. And that’s what the committee’s job is.”
Once the committee selects three finalists, Wisniewski said he expects them to be “in town” by late February or early March, “probably before spring break, ideally.” A negotiation phase with the top candidate will follow. Wisniewski called the July 1 deadline “relatively standard.”
“We might be being a little aggressive in the start, but I think anybody who’s looking for a deanship is knowing that they typically start on July 1 with the new fiscal year at the academic institutions,” he said. “So, I don’t see that as a problem.”
The process, he noted, is largely confidential. Committee members will not be able to share names of people “who have or have not applied” with the larger community. “We do that to protect the candidates at their home institutions,” Wisniewski said.
“It’s also likely we may have internal candidates, and we want to protect them as well. So there will be confidentiality, often to the point where those three to four people come to campus for the broader visit.”
Wisniewski encouraged those taking part in the forum to share names of viable dean candidates.
“If you are thinking after this, ‘Wow, I know the perfect person that should be the next dean,’ please let either (Leibovich) or I know,” he said. “We’ll pass that name on to the search firm so they can reach out, because we want consistent messaging going out to that population.”
After the forum, Wisniewski said he was encouraged by the concern and commitment he heard from the participants.
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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