Since Sept. 25, 2008, Western has been searching for a new dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS). That search is now nearing its end, as three finalists, selected by a committee, are scheduled for final interviews.
Of the 40 applicants, the search committee selected Nicol C. Rae, professor of political science at Florida International University; Jeffrey W. Gilger, professor of special education and courtesy professor of the department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University; and Western’s current CHSS interim dean Brent Carbajal, Spanish professor and former chair of Western’s department of modern and classical
languages.
Carbajal has been interim dean since Ron Kleinknecht retired on July 1, 2008 and will continue as interim dean until Sept. 1, 2009.
Kleinknecht said the biggest problem the new dean will face is managing the college's budget. The 2009 budget for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences is approximately $14.9 million, almost $4 million more than the department’s original budget in 2003. However, the department has many more expenditures now than when it was first started, he said.
“There have always been budget challenges,” Kleinknecht said. “But nothing
like they are today.”
Kleinknecht was hired as a dean on an interim basis for the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) from 2000-2003. In 2003, the CAS split into the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Humanities and Technology, when Kleinknecht became CHSS's founding dean.
Kleinknecht said his interim job proved to be difficult, but after the split, the pressure eased because he was in harge of fewer departments. Nevertheless, the dean of CHSS is still in charge of the largest college at Western, overseeing 13 academic departments.
Because Carbajal is serving as the current dean and is one of the finalists, he could not comment on the selection process due to a conflict of interest.
The hiring process for the dean of CHSS began Nov. 24, 2008, when the search committee, which consists of various college faculty members, including some from CHSS, reviewed applications.
Western’s Dean of Huxley College of the Environment Brad Smith is the acting chair of the search committee and said most applicants who did not make it past the first stage of hiring did not meet minimum requirements or were professional job appliers, people who apply to a position regardless of qualifications.
Smith said the committee narrowed the pool of candidates down to 10, who were then interviewed over the phone, along with their references who were called later.
Smith said this process eliminated five of the candidates, leaving the three finalists and two backup candidates. Selecting two backup candidates is standard protocol for a search committee, Smith said.
Sometimes finalists do not accept the job when offered because they get another job
or other complications arise, such as not being able to sell their house, or simply not fitting in with the university.
“Sometimes people don’t always work out once you meet them in person,” Smith said. “There is a big difference between talking to someone on the phone and meeting him or her in person.”
Bev Jones, assistant to the provost, is in charge of facilitating and coordinating the dean of CHSS search and said the three finalists were invited to campus for individual two-day interviews. Meetings
are set up with different groups throughout the university, including CHSS faculty, staff, students, the search committee, vice presidents, the provost and President Shepard.
Smith said the finalists will also have lunch with all of Western's deans, so they can get to know the finalists on a more personal basis.
Jones said open forums will be held for each of the candidates during his time on campus; similar to when committees were searching for a vice president and provost earlier this year. She said everyone,
including students, is allowed to participate and ask each finalist questions.
At the end of the two-day interview process, the search committee will gather and review information from all the different groups that met with the finalists.
After all the finalists visit the campus, the committee will give their final recommendations
to the provost, who, along with the president, will make the final decision.
Smith said the president and provost do not have to agree with the committee’s decision. The search committee only recommends who they would like to see hired for the position, he said.
“[We] wouldn’t bring someone in [who] wasn’t qualified,” Smith said. “So
either way it will work out.”
Western is currently trying to fill two dean positions, one for CHSS and the other for the College of Fine and Performing Arts. Having two open positions is just a coincidence because people are retiring at
the same time, Smith said. Kleinknecht had worked at Western for almost 40 years before he retired.
Smith said most people who are ready to become dean are often almost ready to do something more constructive with their time, like going fishing.
“By the time you get into a position like dean, you’ve [usually] got grey hair,” Smith said. “It’s not like there was a mass slaying one day.”
Rae, the first finalist, will visit campus on Feb. 17 and 18. The open forum with Rae will be held at 4 p.m., Feb. 17 in the Academic Instructional Center West room 204.
