The University made progress over the fall semester in its search for deans, with three of the seven dean searches finalizing candidates, said Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Stuart Bell.
The search for candidates began last year when six college deans and the dean of libraries stepped down or took other jobs.
The University has included both alumni and professors in its search, in addition to looking at candidates from other universities. A University alumnus and a professor appear in the final candidate pool for the College of Sciences and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
The Daily Reveille previously reported that the interview process has three stages – application reviews, Skype interviews, and in-person interviews.
So far, the Colleges of Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences and the School of Veterinary Medicine have conducted in-person interviews, Bell said.
Both the College of Sciences and the School of Veterinary Medicine interviewed three final candidates before winter break, Bell said. He said the College of Sciences brought in one of the three candidates before winter break began to negotiate, and a School of Veterinary Medicine candidate is coming back to do the same in the coming weeks.
Bell said the reason those two searches are ahead of other colleges is because those committees began work last spring, whereas the School of Library Science began its search in the middle of last fall.
Bell did not say whether the committees have settled on those candidates who are being called back to the University, but he said the meetings will provide “a path forward.”
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences announced the final three candidates via a department-wide email Tuesday, with University Alumni Professor Stacia Haynie appearing on the list.
In addition, Eric Link, assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Memphis and R. Kyle Longley, professor and head of the history department at Arizona State University will be interviewed.
The candidates will be at the University for two days each in late January and early February to interview for the position, according to an announcement from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The visits will include an open forum for students, staff and faculty to listen to the candidates’ presentations and ask questions.
The E.J. Ourso College of Business and the College of Music and Dramatic Arts are close to identifying the candidates who will come to campus for interviews, Bell said. He said the in-person interviews will most likely take place in late January and early February as well.
The Honors College and the School of Library and Information Science are not far into the search, Bell said. He said the new deans for all the schools should be finalized by the end of June so they can be instated on July 1.