The Facts: CALS hosted a student forum last night to allow students to give their input on the future dean of the college. CNR and DASA are also searching for new deans, but have yet to ask for mass student participation.
Our Opinion: CNR and DASA should follow CALS’ example and create a way for students to meet the dean candidates and offer their opinions on those candidates. When these things do happen, students should take advantage of these rare opportunities.
Last night the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences hosted a forum to introduce their students to the candidates for the college’s new dean. All students were invited to attend and give their input on who should be their future dean. This forum is a wonderful idea on CALS’ part and other colleges should follow suit.
The deans of the various colleges at N.C. State are in charge of many things that are important to students. In essence, the deans are the presidents of their colleges. They’re in charge of things like budgeting, fundraising, hiring faculty and deciding which faculty members are tenured. In other words, they are the face of the college. Because this position is extremely important, who is hired is something students in CALS should care about. It is rare for students to be given the opportunity to communicate with administration directly on who should become their next dean. If students do not attend forums like the one CALS hosted, they are disregarding an important opportunity and essentially telling their college they don’t care. Starting July 1, 2012, the merger of the Divisions of Student Affairs and Undergraduate Academic Programs will be finalized. Both departments will exist under a new name: the Division of Academic and Student Affairs. Currently, DASA is searching for someone to fill the position of vice chancellor and dean. At the same time, the College of Natural Resources is also searching for a new dean. CALS is actively working to include students in the hiring process for the dean. However, CNR and DASA have yet to organize anything like the student forum CALS hosted last night. These two departments should consider running the hiring process much in the same way as CALS. Student input is highly valuable because the committees in charge of hiring will know they made a choice all students agree with. Students, on the other hand, need to meet these hiring committees half way. When programs like the CALS forum are available, students should go. Even if you don’t feel strongly about any particular issue, getting to know your possible future dean is a good idea. CALS and its students have set a positive example for future dean searches. Other colleges and organizations, like CNR and DASA, should follow suit in order to make sure the students’ voices are heard. This way, not only will a qualified dean be selected by the hiring committees, but it will be a dean students helped choose. Thus, students will likely be welcoming to that new member of our Wolfpack community.
