Wharton search cmte. to submit finalists to Rodin

Former Dean Thomas Gerrity announced his resignation last October. And then there were six. The Wharton dean search committee has narrowed its choices to six of the nation's top business executives and academics and will present its list to University President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi by the end of the month. Graduate School of Fine Arts Dean Gary Hack said the 12-member committee, which has been meeting since November, has finished conducting its off-site interviews and is now making final decisions about how many of the remaining candidates to recommend to Rodin. Once the committee submits the list, the candidates will be interviewed by Rodin for a final decision. It is not clear how long it will take for an appointment to be made once Rodin receives the list. "Our job isn't to choose the candidate. That's the president's," Hack said yesterday. If the committee submits the list to Rodin this month, then a new dean could ostensibly be appointed by the end of the semester, both Hack and Rodin said. Hack confirmed yesterday that the list still includes academics and businesspeople. He declined to say whether a favorite of the six had emerged among members of the committee. "My guess is that not everyone will feel uniformly enthusiastic about the candidates we recommend," Hack said. As has been the case throughout the nearly year-long process, Hack was tight-lipped yesterday about the identities of the remaining candidates. He declined to comment on whether any of the candidates are currently deans at other business schools. He also would not say how many of the candidates were from the business sector and how many were from other academic institutions. Hack said the six candidates cannot be "pigeon-holed" into one category or another, since at least several of them have worked in both education and in business. "If the person comes from the business world, they have to have sufficient comfort in the academic world that they can work effectively with the students and the faculty," Hack said. Conversely, he added, those candidates with a more academic background need to show a solid understanding of the business marketplace and should have important connections for networking with prospective donors. The committee has retained the help of Spencer Stuart, an international executive search firm. Wharton has been without a permanent leader since July 1, when Thomas Gerrity officially stepped down from the post. That following month, the business school named Deputy Dean Patrick Harker as its interim head. The timetable for the search has been delayed several times since the committee was charged last November. Its members initially hoped to end the search in late May and then before Gerrity -- who announced his intention to resign more than a year ago -- officially stepped down. Hack pointed out that the committee has lost several otherwise qualified candidates who were unwilling to leave their current positions and come to Penn. "Every candidate looked at has transitional issues because they're not sitting on their hands," he said. Rodin said such losses are common to any search process and should be taken in stride. She noted that it is frequent that committees will add more candidates to their list as the search progresses. "We shouldn't lose hope because some group is unavailable," Rodin said. "The first people that you try are just the easiest." Gerrity announced last October that he would resign from his position in July to return to the faculty, ending a 10-year tenure as dean. He currently serves as director of the Wharton Forum on Electronic Commerce.

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