Poli Sci hopes for prof hiring by May

The University is still actively seeking to bring new recruits to the besieged department. Still reeling from last year's loss of two junior professors and the planned retirements of five senior faculty members over the next three years, the nearly 20-member Political Science Department will have a "new complexion" by this May at the latest, according to Political Science Department Chairperson Ian Lustick. College of Arts and Sciences Dean Richard Beeman said last month that the University-wide task force now actively seeking recruits will have up to a half-dozen offers to senior political scientists by the end of the year. But one such recruit, Jim Snyder, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- whom department officials had previously said was the most likely recruit to accept an offer -- said he was still undecided about whether he would come to Penn. "My interest is contingent on other peoples' interest," Snyder said, adding that his decision will not be made until the department finishes all its interviews. Snyder emphasized that he would be very interested in coming "in a package" with other professors and noted that he would "not be crazy about just coming by [himself]." Although Snyder declined to name exactly whom this "package" would include, School of Arts and Sciences Dean Sam Preston said the deal probably would involve three or four other professors. Preston confirmed that Snyder's potential hiring -- which includes an offer of a salary increase, an endowed faculty chair position and the right to recruit more faculty to the department -- involves "coalition-formation issues." Snyder's specialty is American Politics -- an area that the department has expressed interest in improving. Snyder said he did not know when he would officially decide whether or not to accept the offer -- which has been on the table since at least last summer -- but acknowledged the proceedings are "definitely still in progress." He expects the process to "drag on into the spring." The University has spent the year negotiating, interviewing and dealing with various political science professors from around the country -- all in a concerted effort to rebuild a department that has recently witnessed the exodus of some of its most well-respected members. Two assistant professors in the department left last spring. Daniel Deudney, who taught a popular introductory International Relations lecture course, was forced to leave after not having been granted tenure after his seventh year at Penn. Shortly thereafter, Marissa Golden -- who taught the introductory course in American Politics -- announced her intention to leave, citing concerns for her own job security. Deudney accepted an offer to teach at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, while Golden returned to teach at her alma mater, Bryn Mawr College. The department was dealt yet another blow when Paul Light, a top American Politics scholar and currently a director at the Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trusts, refused an offer over the summer to join the department and direct the Fels Center of Government. And while the average top-10 political science department has 42 faculty members, Penn's is less than half that size. The department did score one success, however, hiring International Relations scholar David Rousseau away from the State University of New York at Buffalo last March. Despite the setbacks, administrators remain confident that they can successfully land quality candidates before the end of the school year. According to Lustick, there has been a "tremendous amount of activity," as University administrators have tried vigorously to rebuild the department. "I'm very optimistic about the coming year," Lustick said recently. And Preston said he is "for the first time optimistic." While the exact number of recruits is not yet known, Preston did acknowledge the potential for a "major announcement" in the near future. According to Beeman, it would be a "stunning success" for the department if it could successfully hire this currently anonymous recruit.

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