Three schools look to find new deans

Radnor High School '97 Radnor, Pa. Come September, the incoming Class of 2003 may not be the only ones trying to find their way around campus -- a few fresh faces should be joining the University administration as well. And with three search committees conducting rigorous searches since last November, the University hopes to have the three new deans in place by this fall. The committees -- composed of administrators, faculty and students -- have been advertising the positions nationally and seeking out possible candidates at peer institutions. After reviewing and interviewing the candidates, committee members will present a list of the top three to five to University President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi, Penn's chief academic officer. After five months, the search committee to find a new Wharton dean is currently at work trying to narrow the current pool of six candidates down to three or four. Committee Chairperson and Dean of the Graduate School of Fine Arts Gary Hack said the position will hopefully be filled by the time outgoing Dean Thomas Gerrity steps down from his position on July 1. Hack noted that the role demands a leader with a background in both business and academia. Under Gerrity's leadership, new academic programs were developed and Wharton's endowment tripled to almost $300 million. But after nine years on the job, the 57-year-old Gerrity decided to take on the role of a Management professor, which will enable him to spend more time with his family. Law Dean Colin Diver -- who has held the position for 10 years -- will also step down in July. The search committee charged with finding Diver's replacement is currently narrowing down a "very short list" of candidates to the requisite three to five, according to committee chairperson and Wharton Undergraduate Dean Richard Herring. Herring said that "with luck" the University may be able to acquire a new dean by the time Diver leaves. During his tenure, Diver, 54, has increased the faculty by one third, expanded facilities and support services and raised over $100 million for the school's activities and endowment. He plans to remain at Penn as a professor and researcher in the Law School. Former Engineering Dean Gregory Farrington announced his resignation in May 1998 in order to assume the presidency of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Chemical Engineering Professor Eduardo Glandt has been serving as interim dean since last July. A search committee has been seeking out a permanent replacement for Farrington since last November. While officials said the committee would like to fill the position quickly, they do not have a set deadline. Under Farrington, who had taught at Penn since 1979 and then served as dean beginning in 1990, applications to the school increased by 60 percent, four new master's programs were created and the size of the endowment tripled. Penn has a history of long searches for top academic appointments. It took more than a year for Barchi to be appointed after the resignation of his predecessor, Stanley Chodorow, in October 1997. And in December 1997, Samuel Preston was appointed dean of the School of Arts and Sciences after a nearly 1 1/2-year search.

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