Aldon Morris’s appointment as interim dean of Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences in September 2007 came with little fanfare or media attention.
Morris, who was serving as the associate dean for faculty affairs, replaced Daniel Linzer when the former Weinberg dean was named university provost.
A national search for a permanent dean is under way, and university officials said it is not unusual for a search to take this long.
When Eric Sundquist, Linzer’s predecessor as dean, announced his resignation, it took a year to name Linzer as his replacement. Because Sundquist announced his resignation almost 18 months in advance, no interim dean was necessary.
Morris, who would not say whether or not he had applied for the position, said a name would be announced soon.
In the meantime, his job is largely concerned with managing the curriculum and the faculty to improve the quality of student life.
“I worry a lot about you guys,” said Morris, who has been at Northwestern since 1988. “I want to make sure that you have a very interesting, rigorous and stimulating curriculum, wonderful professors, good study abroad experiences.”
The past year, Weinberg has paid more attention to international issues, as Morris noted efforts to expand both the Program on African Studies and continue to work on creating a Latino Studies Program.
While the program had existed for a long time, it did not have a major presence in the undergraduate community, said David Schoenbrun , director of undergraduate studies for the Program of African Studies.
“It’s (currently) practically organized to generate externally-funded grant proposals,” Schoenbrun said. “What Dean Morris is trying to do is to bring the undergraduates more centrally into the activities.”
While Linzer had given support to the program, it was Morris who made more of a difference. Morris named Schoenbrun the first director of undergraduate studies for the program and then hired additional faculty members to teach African Languages.
“It’s Dean Morris who really pushed this,” Schoenbrun said. “Dean Morris is the one who is finally giving it the support it needs.”
Latino Studies hired two new professors in 2006 after students renewed their commitment to building the program, but the program has not seen dramatic change since September.
Morris’s tenure as dean has seen increases in the number and prestige of faculty, including Prof. Fraser Stoddart, a renowned nanotechnology expert, said John McLane, the current associate dean of faculty affairs.
Henry Bienen described Stoddart on Monday as “the symbol and the reality” of recent high-profile hires during his term as president. But both McLane and Morris acknowledged these expansions in the curriculum and faculty came with high costs attached.
McLane cited Stoddart’s 20 research assistants, while Morris cited the machinery many natural sciences professors need and the funds for travel and research that professors in the other disciplines require.
Because of this, Morris said a great deal of his time was spent dealing with money, either in budgeting or fund-raising.
“It’s a major dimension of what a dean does,” he said. “I would say that a third of my time and my thinking process is concerned with the college having the adequate resources.”
Morris described himself as a consensus leader along with the other associate deans.
“We consider ourselves a leadership team,” he said. “When you think of 600 faculty and 5,000 students and so many staff, it’s a very complex undertaking.”
Mary Finn, dean of undergraduate academic affairs, wrote in an e-mail that she felt Morris had taken input from all parts of the office and therefore dealt with new issues.
“His style is very consultive and collaborative,” Finn wrote. “As associate dean he was concerned mostly with faculty, but as interim dean he has shown keen interest in undergraduate student and curricular matters.”
An announcement is approaching, Morris said, adding that the person selected would have to be a scholar able to garner the faculty’s respect.
McLane, however, was less subtle about Weinberg’s choices.
“I’m not a candidate for the dean’s job,” McLane said. “Of course Aldon Morris is, and he may well be our next new dean.”
