Penn to fill house dean slots

When the nationwide search for house deans of the 12 college houses comes to a close today, faculty members involved in the search say they expect to have more than 100 candidates for the positions. The college house plan -- announced last October -- calls for the organization of the University's residences into 12 multi-year college houses with added programming and academic support. A house dean will live in each house and take the lead in coordinating academic programming and support services for house residents. The new position, with its added academic responsibilities, will replace the current administrative fellow and assistant dean positions in the existing college houses. An advertisement requesting applications appeared in The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer on February 15 and in the Chronicle of Higher Education on February 27. It called for candidates possessing an "advanced degree (doctorate preferred)" and experience working in "a residential college environment" in an advising or teaching role. Art History Professor David Brownlee, who is directing the college house implementation process, said the committee selecting the deans had, as of Monday, enough applications in their hands for "several large universities." "We're prepared to have and expect to have more than 100 applications," he said. The central screening committee will begin reviewing the applications, which are arriving from all across the country, this week. The committee is chaired by Engineering Professor David Pope and includes representatives from the office of Academic Programs and Residence Life, the four undergraduate schools' advising offices, the Residential Advisory Board and two faculty members -- College Dean Richard Beeman and English Professor Al Filreis, who also serves as chairperson of the Residential Faculty Council. Brownlee said the committee will identify the strongest candidates and then invite the individual college houses to select which candidates to interview from among them. The interview process will run through April. The houses will then rank their preferences and send these to Residence Life, which will ultimately oversee the deans' contracts. The deans will take office on July 1. Faculty masters and faculty fellows will join the house deans in providing in-house guidance and support for residents in the new college houses. The deans will serve as "deputies" of the faculty masters, who -- through consultation with the residents -- will create the vision for the house, according to Brownlee. The undergraduate schools will also play a major role in the programming of the college houses and in training the house deans. Faculty masters for the 12 houses have yet not been appointed. Interim Provost Michael Wachter is overseeing that search, and officials from his the Provost's office said the first of the appointments may be announced by the end of this week.