New College dean will come from U.

A recently appointed committee charged with finding a new dean for the College of Arts and Sciences plans to release its recommendations to interim School of Arts and Sciences Dean Walter Wales by Thanksgiving. The committee, which consists of two students, five faculty members and one administrator, met for the first time this week to begin outlining the qualities it seeks in a dean. The committee will submit its list of three to five potential candidates to Wales, who will ultimately make the final decision. Wales will select a candidate to replace outgoing College Dean Robert Rescorla, who is stepping down from his administrative position at the end of the semester to return to teaching and conducting research in the Psychology Department. While the ongoing search for a permanent replacement for Wales is being conducted nationally, the new College dean will be chosen from among tenured SAS faculty members, according to search committee chairperson and English Professor Peter Conn. The committee is accepting nominations from faculty and students and will treat all nominations equally. Conn said he cannot remember another time in his 30 years at the University when students were included on a College dean search committee or given the opportunity to nominate professors and voice their opinions. A small group of 15 faculty and students gathered in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge yesterday afternoon to discuss the search. When Nursing sophomore Mikaila Brown asked how to go about nominating professors, Conn said sending the committee a letter or e-mail explaining why the professor would make a good dean is more useful than simply forwarding names of potential candidates. Several students wanted to know if the committee was looking for a professor from a particular department. Conn said the committee as a whole does not have a departmental preference, but stressed that individual members may have opinions about the issue. Recent College deans have come from a variety of departments, ranging from English and Psychology to Slavic Languages and Classical Studies. But Conn said some faculty would like to see a science professor fill the position. In the University's academic pecking order, there tends to be "physics envy" resulting from the belief that "the real academics are in the Physics Department," Conn said. Other students at yesterday's meeting wondered if faculty members must have administrative experience to be considered for the position. While such experience is desirable, Conn emphasized that it is not necessary as long as candidates are "willing to give give their full attention to the job." He noted that many professors are more comfortable doing laboratory research than performing administrative and fundraising duties which require constant interaction with people. "You have to remember academics are the ones who couldn't get dates in high school," he joked. Additionally, Conn said faculty members are unlikely to express interest in the position because academics "tend to frown on professors who seem to be trying to climb the administrative ladder."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.