As the search progresses for a new dean of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, current Dean Eric Sundquist said he would return next year to the University of California at Los Angeles, where he served as English department chairman before coming to Northwestern in 1997.

When he announced his retirement as dean in February to concentrate on academic matters, Sundquist said he was unsure of his future plans, but didn’t rule out serving as a Weinberg English professor. But he said in an e-mail on Monday that he would move to the West Coast in June to return to UCLA as a professor, a position he held from 1989 until his arrival at Weinberg.

“There are personal and family reasons that make being on the West Coast better for me,” Sundquist said.

As a 12-person search committee narrows its list of dean candidates from an initial pool of more than 100 applicants, University President Henry Bienen said Sundquist will leave Weinberg in “good shape” for his successor.

“Dean Sundquist has really done a lot for Weinberg,” Bienen said. “I think the school is in a very strong position. He’s done well with outside faculty hiring and retention.”

Officials at UCLA’s College of Letters and Sciences said they will welcome back Sundquist with open arms.

“Northwestern’s loss is our gain,” said Harlan Lebo, the college’s communications director. “Sundquist is a terrific researcher and a wonderful scholar. He brought a lot to the school in his previous time here.”

During his four years as Weinberg dean, Sundquist oversaw the school’s name change from the College of Arts and Sciences and movements to establish minors including programs in Asian-American and Latino studies. Two science buildings on North Campus are under construction, and a new wing soon will be added to Kresge Hall.

“There is no question that Eric is extremely well thought of,” said Alan Cubbage, vice president for university relations. “It’s one of those things where we would have liked for him to stay, but we understand his decision not to.”

Search committee members continue to work on selecting final candidates to carry on Sundquist’s legacy. President Bienen said the committee presented him with a list of 10 names last week, but Prof. Kelly Mayo, chairwoman of the committee, said the list of candidates might change as more applicants are evaluated.

“Cutting down the list depends on how the process plays out,” said Mayo, a professor in the biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology department. “So far, the candidates have made a very good group and we’ll have our work cut out for us.”

There is currently no precise timetable for finalizing decisions, but Mayo said on-campus interviews will start within the next two months. The search committee will present a final group of applicants to Bienen and Provost Lawrence Dumas, who then will investigate each candidate further before selecting the new dean.

NU administrators don’t lack experience in hiring deans. Administrators filled four deanships within the past year-and-a-half: Medical School, School of Speech, Medill School of Journalism and the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Although many candidates interviewed for the other deanships came from the academic community and the business world, Bienen said the new Weinberg dean’s expertise would be in a discipline associated with the school.

“Even though Weinberg contains the biggest spread of intellectual endeavors, you still know the skills you want (the dean) to have,” Bienen said. “I know the skill set for the dean we want.

“I can’t tell you if that dean is going to be a chemist, an art historian or a professor of English, but I do know it would be extraordinarily unlikely that the dean for Weinberg would not come from a Weinberg discipline.”

Bienen also said the new dean would undertake the challenge of reorganizing Weinberg’s curriculum and promote increased communication between students and their departments.

“For my taste, although many courses are taught by regular tenure-line faculty, too many courses still are not,” he said. “But that’s in pockets of departments rather than across the board.

“I also want to know how students participate in their curriculum, and if the courses being taught are the courses that make the most sense given the resources we have.”

Sundquist said his successor will have “plenty” to do.

“As for ongoing projects, the dean should continue to hire additional new faculty, complete the various construction projects that are underway, finish implementing the new advising system and create more new undergraduate programs,” he said.