STAFF EDITORIAL: Special Services, Finally

After a year-long search, Patricia Brennan has been tapped to become Director of Special Services, the division of the University Police Department that provides support to victims of crimes of a sensitive nature.

Brennan has been serving as acting director since last summer.

We congratulate Brennan on her new position, and hope she will be able to restore confidence in the Special Services department, which which some had seen as in danger of being dismantled. It's crucial that the University have a division that can help victims of violent crime, serving as a liaison between crime victims and police investigators.

On another note, this is one of a number of important campus positions that have taken over a year to fill.

Last November, then-interim Engineering dean Eduardo Glandt was appointed permanent dean after a 15-month search. In February, Patrick Harker became Wharton's dean after a 16-month search. In March, Michael Fitts was appointed Law Schol dean after a 15-month search.

While we certainly understand that finding someone qualified to fill such important positions takes time, we question the wisdom of leaving schools and agencies without permanent leadership for so long.

While it's certainly possible for an interim head to provide effective leadership, it's equally possible for groups to stagnate without a permanent head. Strategic planning is stalled, donors hold back funds and faculty and staff become increasingly frustrated. The fate of smaller divisions like Special Services can be called into question without permananent leadership.

It's especially puzzling that the Special Services search took so long, given the importance of the division, the fact that -- after such a long search -- the position was given to the person temporarily filling it, and, that the selection process, since not for an academic position, should be filled without the technical difficulties associated with dean searches.

The trend of appointing the person who has served as interim head to permanent positions only after lengthy searchs, as also occured for the Wharton and Engineering deans, is also puzzling, at the least.

The University has several important offices now being filled by interim heads, the most notable being the Health System CEO and the Medical School dean. These positions must be filled much more rapidly than the previous offices were. The Health's System's financial situation especially demands firms, stable leadership.

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