Committees to review deans' performances

Committees charged with reviewing the performance of three University deans have begun their work, and are expected to issue assessments of the deans' performances at the end of next month. The committees, appointed by Provost Stanley Chodorow, are scrutinizing the work of Engineering School Dean Gregory Farrington, Medical School Dean William Kelley and Wharton School Dean Thomas Gerrity. Three faculty-student committees -- each of which includes another University dean -- have been formed to gather comment about the deans' performances from all of the deans' constituencies. Deans serve a seven-year term, according to Nancy Nowicki, Chodorow's external affairs assistant. If they agree to reappointment, they are reviewed during their sixth year. If approved by the review committee, each dean may serve an additional five-year term, for a total of no more than 12 years. The committees are charged with answering nine questions in their written reports, Nowicki said. These include how each dean has handled long-term planning, increased the quality of student and faculty scholarship, developed and managed financial resources, and acted as a leader for his school. Committee members are also asked to offer suggestions for the next five to six years, aimed at strengthening the school of the dean they are evaluating. Chodorow described the review committees' work as both discreet and thorough. "The committees solicit written comments from everyone in the school, including students, and interview some people whom the committee thinks have wide knowledge of the dean's performance or who have requested an interview," he said. "They interview the dean. Then, the committee deliberates on the materials they have collected." The committees forward their reports to the provost and University President Judith Rodin, and the Board of Trustees makes the final decision on whether a dean will be reappointed. Dean reviews are more than just formalities, Chodorow said. In the few years before he and Rodin arrived on campus, he added, most of the dean reviews that occurred resulted in the retirement of deans from their deanships. "The reviews give the deans a new beginning and are an occasion for them, the schools and the president and provost to recommit ourselves to a set of goals that will contribute to the quality of the school and the University," Chodorow said. "The review focuses on excellence," he added. "Penn's deans are expected to lead their schools to the highest levels of academic performance and standing. The review shows us whether they have met this high standard." Chemistry Department Chairperson Amos Smith, who is chairing the Kelley review committee, said the dean review process is fairly straightforward. Smith said the entire reviewing process may not finish until mid-February. Physics Professor Tom Lubensky, chairperson of the Farrington review committee, agreed that the groups face an extensive task. "We've had one meeting, we're scheduling a meeting next week," Lubensky said. "There's a lot of work, and we've done essentially nothing? We will be starting now, we have initiated the process, but the heavy work is not until the end of January."

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