Searches for the three open Ohio University dean positions recently began and might be completed by the end of Winter Quarter.
The committees responsible for conducting the searches, which are composed of faculty and are chosen by the provost's office, have received applications for vacant dean posts in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education and Fine Arts, said Martin Tuck, associate provost for academic affairs.
Interim deans have headed these schools since the beginning of the academic year after three deans left the university during the summer.
We're trying to run all three (searches) at the same time
which is a challenge Tuck said. We're hoping that the process will be completed by the end of Winter Quarter.
One position, an opening in the College of Communications, was filled Jan. 1 when a committee chose interim dean Greg Shepherd for the permanent position. He assumed this post when Kathy Krendl became provost in 2004. Shepherd will make $185,000 this year, said Jack Jeffery, university spokesman.
Shepherd was chosen from four finalists interviewed by a committee chaired by communications professor Bill Rawlins. Shepherd has won the Central States Speech Association award for outstanding young teacher and the Del Shankel Teaching Excellence Award given by the University of Kansas. His awards stood out to the committee, but many things qualified him for the position, Rawlins said.
The combination of a really fine teacher scholar and developing administrator made him attractive
he said. He's a well-rounded person. We were impressed by that.
Shepherd had experience working at OU, but the committee reviewed applications from across the world before inviting the four interviewees. Interview costs, like transportation and lodging, combined with the cost of placing ads - usually in scholarly journals and online - put the cost of one dean search at about $5,000 or $6,000, Tuck said. This is not unique to OU and actually includes a break from its advertisement contractor, he said.
We're not doing anything any different than anyone else
Tuck said.
When the vacant positions will be filled depends on how many applications the search committees receive, Tuck said. The arts and scinces and fine arts (deans' searches) are probably a little bit ahead of education
he said.
Print advertisements for the education college appear for the first time this week in The Chronicle of Higher Education, which does not publish over winter break, accounting for the late start, Tuck said.
Application reviews for the Arts and Sciences and Fine Arts colleges begin Jan. 20, but College of Education applications will not be reviewed until Feb. 6, Tuck said.
Applications will still be accepted after this time, however. A time frame for announcing finalists has not been determined.
It's not a deadline
per se
it's the date at which we begin the selection process
Tuck said.
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