Search for Annenberg dean still in initial stages

With less than a year to fill the shoes of famed Annenberg School of Communications Dean Kathleen Jamieson, University President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi have appointed a search committee to find a new dean.

Jamieson, who has served an extended term as dean since 1989, will be vacating her position at the end of the 2002-2003 academic year due to the University's bylaws with regard to limitations of the length of time a dean may be appointed.

The search committee will be chaired by College of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston, and has eleven faculty and student members.

The committee has already held seven meetings and has also selected A.T. Kearney -- an executive search consulting firm -- to assist with the selection of potential candidates.

"So far we've met with Kathleen [Jamieson], talked about our aspirations for the dean, what qualities we're looking for and the recent history of the school, and talked about some of the major questions that we want to see resolved in order to facilitate the dean search process," Preston said.

Preston added that the committee will search for the new dean both within the University and outside of it.

Regardless of the initial steps that the committee has already taken, finding a replacement for Jamieson will prove to be a challenge.

During her term as Dean, Jamieson has established herself among students as an exceptional professor and mentor while continuing her research in campaign communication, rhetorical theory and criticism.

The vastness of Jamieson's career -- which includes the authorship or co-authorship of ten books, serving as a commentator for the 1996 presidential debates and the receipt of numerous fellowships and grants -- has added even more magnitude to the position that she will soon be vacating.

Once her appointment as dean expires next year, Jamieson will continue to be the director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center in addition to serving as a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences in California for the 2003-2004 academic year.

Preston said that Jamieson's enduring legacy as a dean and leader in the field of communications will help to spur the committee in its quest for prospective candidates.

"She's set a wonderful example for future deans and has the school on very firm academic footing," Preston said. "I think her success makes it easier for us to find a successor."

In hunting for Jamieson's replacement, Preston said that both the committee and A.T. Kearney would be looking for people with strong leadership skills, although he noted that the search would not be limited to candidates who have solely academic credentials.

"I think an effective dean has to be an academic leader, and one who will interact with both internal and external constituencies," Preston said.

"There needs to be a minimum of a certain level of scholarly achievement, but beyond that profile it's conceivable that we would have a candidate that would come from non-academic walks of life in this particular search especially."

With the assistance of A.T. Kearney, the committee hopes to have a list of potential dean candidates to present to Rodin and Barchi by November.

"Our job ends when we submit a list of candidates to the President and the Provost," Preston said. "At that point, the ball is in their court."

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