SAS faculty thankful to have permanent deans

Professors hope the naming of new School of Arts and Sciences and College deans will lead to a focus on funding and academics. There is a noticeable change in the moods of School of Arts and Sciences faculty members this semester as the University-wide "interim effect" -- the months-long lack of permanent deans within SAS -- has ended. With Sociology Professor Samuel Preston heading SAS and History Professor Richard Beeman taking the helm of the College of Arts and Sciences -- SAS's undergraduate division -- the dean's office is fully intact for the first time since former SAS Dean Rosemary Stevens resigned in September 1996. "There is a widespread satisfaction and, in fact, great enthusiasm, over the Preston and Beeman appointments," Music Department Undergraduate Chairperson Norman Smith said. "Everyone is happy and optimistic." Last semester, with SAS under the leadership of then-Interim Dean Walter Wales and the College headed by outgoing Dean Robert Rescorla, many faculty members expressed concern about the lack of permanent deans. In particular, they complained that departmental initiatives and funding requests were largely put off during the search for the new deans. Faculty members seem to be in agreement that the constant fluctuation within the dean's office forced their departments' agendas to the back burner. For the most part, they did not attribute problems to any lack of competency on the parts of Wales or Rescorla. "It's hard to run a school without a permanent head dean who has a clear mandate," said Arabic Professor Roger Allen. "Wales and Rescorla did the best they could with what they had." Beeman was emphatic in the praise of his predecessors, noting that it is difficult for any institution to make important decisions in the absence of permanent leaders. "Wales and Rescorla are some of the finest faculty the school has ever put in the dean's office," Beeman said. "Unfortunately, they just weren't in charge of the school's destiny." With a full complement of deans, SAS faculty members hope that more funding will be allocated to hiring, an issue of major concern in recent years. Noting that the number of SAS faculty members has decreased about 7 percent in the past five years -- from 500 to 467 -- Allen stressed the school's need to grow. "If SAS is going to flourish, it needs to expand, not contract," he said. "The psychological effect on the faculty has been very bad." Allen acknowledged, however, that SAS's $1 million deficit has played a large part in hiring decisions over the past few years. "Far too often, a lack of adequate funds for SAS has driven academic decisions," he said. "They really aren't academic decisions at all -- they're financial." But a high-ranking SAS faculty member who requested anonymity said the lack of strong advocacy for new hiring within the dean's office caused her department to lose several potential new faculty members during the tenures of Wales and Rescorla. She said she hopes that the new deans will take the initiative to support such candidates in the future. Preston said SAS will conduct more searches for new faculty members in the next few years, although he noted that "the increase will likely not be large". Not all SAS departments, however, said they saw their departmental agendas stagnate under the interim administration. Mathematics Department Undergraduate Chairperson Ted Chinburg claimed that the absence of permanent deans never really affected his department. "I am pleased that we have some non-interim deans, but I never really noticed a problem," Chinburg said. "Wales, Rescorla and [former Provost Stanley] Chodorow were always very responsive to the Math Department's needs." As a case in point, Chinburg pointed to funds recently allocated to the department for a new math help program. Beeman said he was pleased with SAS faculty members' improving attitude. But he said he could not take credit for the changing mood. "Sam [Preston] and I are not knights in shining armor," Beeman said, adding that he hopes to help make "Penn's undergraduate education the best of any undergraduate education at any research institution."