Larry Jameson and David Van Zandt have a lot in common.
Both served as the dean of prominent Northwestern graduate schools on the Chicago campus. Both announced in October they were leaving their posts for positions at universities on the east coast. Both officially stepped down on Jan. 1, leaving the interim deanship to deputies who have no interest in permanently succeeding them.
But Jameson and Van Zandt say the timing of their departures is coincidental.
Jameson, the three-year dean of the Feinberg School of Medicine, has been chosen as the next dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine, arguably the most prestigious medical school in the country. Van Zandt, the 17-year dean of the NU’s law school, has already started at his new job as president of The New School, a progressive liberal arts university in New York City.
“Just a case of two good opportunities for each of us coming at the same time,” Van Zandt said.
In interviews, the interim deans – Jeffrey Glassroth of Feinberg and Kim Yuracko of the School of Law – each praised the departing deans and acknowledged that the next few months may be challenging ones for their respective schools.
Feinberg
Glassroth, formerly Feinberg’s vice dean and chief academic officer as well as the president and CEO of the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation, takes the deanship as the health care industry undergoes drastic health care reform and at a time when the school is exploring potential ‘alignment’ of its hospital and research wings.
“The talk is about alignment of mission and strategy,” the interim dean said. “We’re basically looking at how we can make Northwestern – be it the hospital, be it the medical school, be it the practicing medical faculty – the best it can be.”
It’s unclear when any decisions will be made about ‘alignment.’
In Penn’s medical school, the hospital and academic aspects of the school are completely consolidated, which is part of what made it so attractive to Jameson, he said. In addition, he was attracted to the school’s ranking as the second best medical school in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report most recent annual list. Feinberg came in tied at number 18 on that list.
Jameson praised the school’s “nimble” and “unusual” structure but said he would miss his colleagues at Feinberg.
“It’s been a great run,” he said.
University President Morton Schapiro called Jameson a “brilliant scientist” in an October meeting with The Daily. Glassroth called him an “extraordinary guy” who will be hard to replace.
“This is a large enterprise so I think the replacement has to be a people-oriented, good communicator,” he said. “They need to also have a good business sense, so you’re talking about a pretty broad skill set.”
Law School
The uneasiness at the Law School over the next few months will not come from talks of realignment but from coping with the loss of Van Zandt, who served as dean for 17 years.
Staying in a deanship that long is “almost unheard of,” Schapiro said.
Yuracko, the interim dean who previously served as the associate dean for academic affairs and a law professor, said Van Zandt’s replacement must be “someone who understands the way Northwestern Law School is unique.”
“David has really made it a very special place,” she said. “He has really created both a student culture and a faculty culture that are really distinct from our peers.”
She pointed specifically to Van Zandt’s focus on accepting students with work experience and faculty members with an interest in interdisciplinary study. Yuracko, whose research area is sex and race discrimination in employment and education, credited Van Zandt with inspiring her to teach at NU.
Van Zandt pointed toward improving the student culture, diversifying the faculty and expanding the JD-MBA program as his greatest accomplishment. He said NU would have no trouble finding a successor.
“I think the Law School is really well-positioned,” he said. “It was a real honor to be there for 15 years. I consider myself blessed to have done that.”
