The search for a new dean of the College of Liberal Arts is winding down as the fourth and final candidate, Teresa Scott Soufas, a professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Tulane University visited Main Campus last Friday. Throughout the semester, the 14-member Dean Search Advisory Committee conducted interviews and invited four candidates, including Soufas, to Main Campus.
In April, Dr. Michael Bernard-Donals, Valerie Gray Hardcastle and Jill E. Korbin visited campus to speak with students, faculty and staff. Bernard-Donals is a professor of English and Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Hardcastle is the associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Jill E. Korbin is the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. Composed of faculty members and administrators,
the committee originally formed at the end of the fall 2005 semester, following the resignation of CLA Dean Susan Herbst.
Herbst, appointed in 2003, left to become
provost at the State University of New York at Albany. Philip Alperson, chair and professor in the philosophy department, was appointed by former President David Adamany as the interim dean. But when Adamany resigned last year, Alperson returned to his previous position. The search process was also postponed in order to find a new university president, said Joanna Lee, a search committee member and graduate student in the psychology department.
Upon the appointment of President Dr. Ann Weaver Hart, the committee resumed the search, screening several candidate applications.
During the 2006-07 academic year, geography and urban studies professor Dr. Carolyn Adams served as interim dean. Adams previously worked as CLA’s assistant dean in the early 1980s, serving as acting dean for two years in 1983. By 1992, she became the dean of CLA until 1999.
Despite not being the permanent dean this year, Adams said the school has made significant strides.
“We have hired a half dozen very strong tenure track faculty members who will join our college in September, and we have worked with departments to design dozens of new courses for students who will be fulfilling Temple’s new General Education requirements,” she said.
After all the finalists have completed their campus visits and met with the incoming provost, the committee will submit their recommendation for a candidate to the president, Lee said.
The dean, who works closely with the provost, will also provide leadership in the academic, administrative and external affairs of the College, according to the job description posted on CLA Dean Search Web site.
The selection of a dean will be made before
the start of the fall semester, said Associate Vice Provost Stephanie Gillin.
“We have searched the country and chose the best candidates to come to campus to interview for the position,” Gillins said.
Liron Milbar can be reached at lmilbar@temple.edu.
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