COLUMN: Take your time, it's worth it

From Mark Fiore's, "The Right Stuff," Fall '99 From Mark Fiore's, "The Right Stuff," Fall '99Violins have been playing all over campus in these early weeks of fall. Indeed, so many students, professors and administrators have been whining recently that the pitch is becoming deafening. Doubtful. Blinded by such concerns, those demanding the hasty installation of permanent deans are ignoring a crucial consideration: appointing a second-rate administrator in order to shave a few months off a search process could result in years of mediocrity, failed visions and missed opportunities. The stakes are high. And the search committees charged with selecting the new deans are rightly taking their jobs seriously, giving deliberation precedence over speed. While the committees continue their work -- which in all three searches has admittedly taken longer than hoped -- interim deans have been appointed at each of the schools: Charles Mooney at the Law School, Patrick Harker at Wharton and Eduardo Glandt at Engineering. To opponents of drawn-out search processes, such temporary appointments provide few benefits. These skeptics contend that interim leadership results in stagnation, a lack of focus and instability. The evidence, however, suggests otherwise. Mooney, who took over for former Dean Colin Diver at the end of the summer, made his intentions known in a message published in this fall's Penn Law Journal, the school's alumni publication. "I am confident that the Dean Search Committee will bring our search for a new dean to a successful conclusion as soon as possible," Mooney said. "In the meantime, Penn Law School will continue to move forward on the many initiatives that are already in place." Funny how Mooney makes no mention of putting on hold all the projects Diver began. Instead, Mooney has been emphasizing the continued renovation of Silverman Hall in preparation for its November 2000 rededication. That project certainly has not stopped because Diver stepped down. Indeed, the whirring sounds of drills and the pounding beats of hammers continue to resound throughout the Law School's original home. Such a commitment is typical for an interim dean. Though less likely to initiate new programs and projects, interim deans rarely bring schools to a standstill. The contention that such administrators are little more than seat warmers and paper pushers lacks any merit. On the contrary, individuals selected to serve as interim deans are often highly qualified in their own right, possessing many of the skills required of a permanent dean. Mooney, for example, has served as the Law School's associate dean for academic affairs and has been active on the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. And at Wharton, Harker has taken on the added duties of interim deanship in addition to his responsibilities as deputy dean. Glandt, too, has impeccable credentials. Such leadership allows the University's search committees to thoroughly consider candidates for a reasonable amount of time rather than rushing to a quick decision born of necessity. As former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin advised in hisCommencement address at the University in May, "Effective decision-making is the key to almost everything you will do. "Time and again during my tenure as Treasury secretary and when I was on Wall Street, I have faced difficult decisions," Rubin told the graduates. "But the lesson is always the same: Good decision-making is the key to good outcomes." And for schools with reputations for academic excellence, the need for excellence in decision-making is all the more important -- a fact not lost on University President Judith Rodin this summer when the Law School search committee revealed that it needed more time. "The committee is doing what I charged them to do: to find the best of the best," Rodin said. "That takes time and effort."