Search for new Wharton dean comes down to final few

As Wharton School Dean Thomas Gerrity prepares to step down in July, the committee in place to find his successor is entering the final phase of its five-month search, according to committee chairperson and Graduate School of Fine Arts Dean Gary Hack. Hack said the committee -- which includes senior Wharton and University faculty, two alumni and two current Wharton students -- is now meeting two or three times a week to narrow a current list of about six candidates down to three or four to recommend to University President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi. The current list of candidates includes leading academics from the University and Wharton as well as other business school leaders, government officials and top executives from "consulting to banking to a major consumer products company," said Dennis Carey, vice president of the international executive search firm Spencer Stuart, which was hired by the University to help identify potential candidates. "We are at the end of a long road," Carey said. "The challenge is here at the table and getting all the diverse [interests of committee members] to agree." Hack, who originally said he hoped to submit the list of finalists before the end of May, is now declining to give a timetable for when the committee will present its final selections. However, he said he still hopes for the position to be filled by the time Gerrity steps down on July 1. According to Carey, some committee members are arguing for a business school educator while others are stressing someone with real business experience. "We want people who have a blend of experience, who have very good connections to the business world as well as an equally good feel for academia," Hack said. He pointed to a strong background in research, a "sense of strategy" and leadership as ideal characteristics for the next Wharton dean. "All of these people have the backgrounds," Carey said. "The real issue here is how they can they relate to students and faculty." Carey added that the committee must also consider a "branding issue." As the Wharton School continues its extensive fundraising efforts for the new state-of-the-art Huntsman Hall and other projects, the next dean "needs to be sensitive to marketing and have a track-record or skills to raise capital," he stressed. And Hack said that candidates' availability would play a role in the committee's selection. "Candidates have their own timetable," he said. "But the committee would still like to see the position filled by the time [Gerrity] steps down in July." Still, Hack maintained that there is no set formula that the committee will use to determine its selections. "Every person comes in with a unique set of qualities," he noted. "We don't check people off and score them. When the committee feels a person could be a wonderful leader for Wharton and meets those criteria, then we will go forward."

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