Quick dean turnover unusual

From John Fry to Clifford Stanley, from Richard Beeman to Rebecca Bushnell -- academic and administrative positions are continually abandoned and filled within the University.

Amidst the rapid turnover, however, not every vacant post is filled within an equal length of time -- the search for a new executive vice president took seven months to complete, while the Nursing dean position took 16 months to fill. The School of Social Work still lacks a permanent leader after nearly 18 months.

According to School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston, the search length is generally a result of the position which has been vacated.

"I think the searches that take the longest, in general, are dean searches," Preston said, adding that an "average dean search takes probably one year to a year and a half" to complete.

University President Judith Rodin explained that dean searches must follow strict University bylaws described in the faculty handbook.

"While all searches are different and every position is different, those that require these procedures inevitably build in a longer process because there are so many points to check off before the process can be even undertaken, let alone completed," Rodin said.

Currently, the University is conducting three such dean searches, the first of which is to fill the vacant dean seat for the School of Social Work. The other two searches are being held to replace dean posts in the Dental and Annenberg schools -- which will be empty after each current dean reaches the position's term limit of 12 years.

Preston is heading the search committee to identify Annenberg's future leader after current dean Kathleen Hall Jamieson's term ends in the spring.

In order for such a process to begin, a committee composed of faculty, students and often alumni intended to represent different constituencies on campus has to be formed. The administration then relies upon this committee to complete the search for position replacements.

In addition to the work of committee members, dean searches frequently utilize private consulting firms -- a service involved in the appointments of Stanley and Rodin.

Law School Dean Michael Fitts, who currently heads the search committee for the dean of the School of Social Work, explained that outside advice is beneficial because such consultants "may often have the ability to come up with names that a committee cannot generate on its own."

While the addition of possible candidates would seemingly lengthen the process, Fitts said that the use of consulting firms to continually monitor the search and update possible candidates actually decreases the amount of time spent in the search.

Paula Carabelli, a consultant for the search firm Spencer Stuart -- which Penn previously used -- echoed these remarks.

"The advantage we bring to a faculty search committee is that we can be more pro-active in identifying and recruiting candidates," Carabelli said.

She explained that while faculty members have other university responsibilities to deal with, the search is the main focus for hired consultants -- this reduces the amount of time usually needed.

Even with such help, though, Fitts said that the searches often prove to be long and arduous.

In the end, however, he emphasized that this time proves to be well spent.

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