Though a new dean for Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences has not yet been chosen, two top university officials have met with some of the candidates and an announcement might be made in the coming weeks, University President Henry Bienen said Thursday.
Bienen, who will have met with six candidates by the end of the search, called an announcement in the next couple of weeks “quite possible.”
“I hope we’re coming to the end of this process,” he said.
Weinberg has had an interim dean since the previous dean, Daniel Linzer, replaced Lawrence Dumas as university provost in August 2007.
Once he became provost, Linzer was in charge of appointing a search committee to seek out and recommend candidates for his former position – a nationwide search that has gone on for most of the academic year
The committee was asked to detail the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate rather than simply ranking them, Bienen said.
After meeting with candidates, Linzer and Bienen will make the final decision on a new dean.
“We ask advice from lots of people: other deans, vice presidents who have met with candidates, the committee as a whole,” Bienen said. “But we reserve the right to ourselves to make that decision.”
Aldon Morris has served as the school’s interim dean since Linzer’s departure.
The committee considered individuals from NU and other universities for the position, said Jock McLane, the associate dean for faculty affairs.
“The dean needs to have an intellectual vision of what the College of Arts and Sciences should be doing at both the undergraduate and graduate student level,” McLane said.
“The new dean will find the college in strong shape, financially and intellectually.”
