SAS dean search falling behind schedule

The search committee for the replacement for School of Arts and Sciences Dean Hugo Sonnenschein may be working a little behind schedule. Committee Chairperson Lawrence Bernstein, a music professor, said this week that it is possible the committee will not have its short list -- the list of finalists from which the president and provost will select the new dean -- before Sonnenschein leaves for Princeton University this summer. Assistant SAS Dean Walter Wales, who served as an interim SAS Dean before Sonnenschein's arrival, has been appointed Acting-Dean and will take over on July 1. The committee, charged by President Sheldon Hackney in February, was urged at the time by many faculty and administrators to come up with a short list before Sonnenschein leaves. "We don't have a deadline," Bernstein said in February. "But it's clear that if it's possible, [the committee] should have the nominations by the time Dean Sonnenschein leaves." Bernstein said this week that it is "likely" the committee will not have a short-list prepared by the end of the academic year. He added that "there is just no way of knowing how long it will take [to form a short list]." Bernstein said the committee has been meeting twice a week since February and has received "dozens" of applications and nominations. Bernstein added that the committee will step-up its search after classes end. Bernstein added that candidates under consideration are both from within and outside the University. Several faculty have said this semester that the search should be concentrated in the University. They said an outsider will have to adjust to the administration of a new school, but a candidate from within SAS will be able to maintain the continuity in the school. "We are certainly scrutinizing very carefully people within the University," Bernstein said, adding that at the same time the president and provost have asked the committee to include outsiders in the search.

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