Search launched for dean of Harpur College of Arts and Sciences

A search committee has been formed and charged with finding the next dean for Harpur College of Arts and Sciences. Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Donald Nieman has launched an internal search to fill the position.

“We need someone who is rooted in the culture of Harpur College,” Nieman said. “When I met with the department chairs last year when the dean’s position was opening up, I told them my preference was to do an internal search. To a person, they said, ‘we need that.’”

Calling the position one of the most difficult jobs on campus, Nieman said he is looking for someone who has a long-term commitment to the college and who will provide stability and support for Harpur’s academic programs. “Harpur College is absolutely critical to this University and its success, impacting almost all students,” he said. “There’s a lot of talent and experience among senior faculty and within the college; there’s a pool of outstanding people who could lead it.”

The search committee, chaired by Dean of Libraries Curtis Kendrick, will begin reviewing applications in mid-March, and the first screenings will be to determine who to invite for preliminary Zoom interviews. The committee will then, in consultation with Nieman, decide on a smaller, finalist group to include in full-day interviews with the campus community.

It will be determined at that time, in early to mid-April, how much, if any of the interviews will be in person, Nieman said. “We would like some opportunity for an in-person interview, but if we have a candidate who doesn’t feel comfortable with that, we’ll have to have all of them remotely because we have to treat all candidates the same.”

It’s an aggressive timeline, Kendrick said, but one that the search committee can meet.

“The search committee is excellent,” he said. “We’ve had our first meeting and everyone was very communicative and supportive of each other in expressing opinions. And everyone understands the critical need for confidentiality. We’re a close-knit community and we can’t have our conversations become known to the outside. That would be unfair to the candidates and to members of the committee.

“Even though it’s an internal search only,” Kendrick said, “it’s an open, legitimate search and we hope for a very diverse applicant pool. It’s important that we get a pool that offers us a broad range of appropriate candidates for serving as dean of Harpur College.”

“We’re looking for someone with leadership skills, above and beyond managerial skills,” Nieman added. “We strongly encourage faculty to make applications or to nominate those they think will provide the kind of leadership Harpur College needs.”

“We know it’s hard to be an internal candidate because you’re putting a lot on the line, but we can’t stress enough that we encourage applications and nominations so we have a strong pool,” Nieman said. “It would be a good thing for us to have a hard decision to make.”

For information on how to apply or nominate someone, see the full position statement on the provost’s website.