Penn's next admissions dean: a Sunday Times reader?
University officials are now in full swing in their search for a replacement for former Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson, most notably with a series of advertisements that have recently run in several publications.
Over the past month, Penn has run ads asking for resumes in The New York Times, including this past Sunday's edition, as well as several industry publications.
The ads are the latest sign that Penn is moving forward in its search for a new dean following Stetson's mysterious resignation in August.
They include a job description drawn up by a search committee composed of faculty members, administrators and student leaders in conjunction with Witt/Keiffer, the firm Penn hired to conduct the search.
"It gives the overview of what we're looking for," Penn President Amy Gutmann said, adding that "we will be expanding on that with the advisory group."
The latest ad appeared in the Education Jobs listings of the Week in Review section and cost between about $17,000 and $18,400, according to a Times ad rep.
Gutmann explained that advertising for a prominent position in national papers like the Times and industry publications like The Chronicle for Higher Education - a weekly with a special advertising section devoted to top-level job vacancies - is standard practice.
"We typically put ads in the places that will allow us to ensure that the availability of the position is known to the broadest range of potential candidates," she said.
But Stephen Peeps, a partner with Heidrick & Struggles, an independent search firm, argued that the Times ad was unusual considering the circumstances.
"It really is putting Penn in front of an audience beyond who Penn wants to attract," he said. "That ad probably means that Penn wants to interest people at a higher level and maybe a little bit out of the box, and they're not catering strictly to the usual suspects."
The University has also placed two ads in the Chronicle, the first Sept. 28 and the second Oct. 12, as well as in the online Inside Higher Ed and in trade publications targeted at admissions officers.
The search for a new admissions dean comes in the wake of the sudden departure of former Dean Stetson at the beginning of the semester.
Both Stetson and the University have refused to comment on the reasons behind his sudden resignation.
Gutmann would only say that the departure was in the "best interests" of both Stetson and the University.
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