New chancellor recommended for IU-Southeast

IU Southeast will receive a new leader in July. Sandra Patterson-Randles, former vice president of academic affairs at University of Pittsburgh, has been chosen as IUS's new chancellor. Johnstown was recommended for the chancellor position at IUS by IU president, Myles Brand, at the trustee meeting May 3 in Bloomington. Current IUS chancellor, F.C. Richardson is retiring in June, after serving almost six years as chancellor of IUS. Patterson-Randles was selected by a search committee that was formed last year after news of Chancellor Richardson's pending retirement became public.\nThe search committee consisted of IU faculty and performed an extensive search of candidates, James Tinney of the Office of Communications and Marketing for IU said. \nJoanna Goldstein, the co-chair of the search committee, along with Charlie Nelms, vice president for student development and diversity, said the committee polled people from the University and people of the community about what qualities they were looking for in a chancellor.\nSome of these qualities included excellent communication skills, budgetary experience, and expertise in assessment issues, especially in regard to general education curriculum. Using these guidelines, the search committee hired an educational consulting firm to locate candidates and attain their applications. \nUltimately, 58 applications were received, and this list was cut down to 12, based on the candidates' qualifications. The final 12 were interviewed and cut to six applicants, who were then invited to come visit the IUS campus and meet with faculty, staff, and students. The list was eventually cut to three final applicants, who then met with Brand, who made the final decision. \n"The range of her experience is impressive," Brand said in recent press release. So is her record of leadership. She has an in-depth knowledge of the issues facing a campus such as IU-Southeast and a proven ability to get things done," he said. "She will serve this campus and its community well." \nPatterson-Randles has spent the last four years as the vice-president for academic affairs at University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. During her time there she had many successful ventures, including a successful review, revision, and implementation of the revisions to Johnstown's general education curriculum. She was also highly committed to diversity and community programs through the school. \n"We were looking for someone with a proven record on the issue of diversity," Goldstein said.\nShe was chair of the Department of Modern Languages at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado for the ten years before serving at University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. While at Western, she was also the chair of the school's task force on diversity. She helped to create the college's first Multicultural Center, and also developed a plan for diversity programming.\nGoldstein said Patterson-Randle's experience and diverse background were important in her selection to replace the current chancellor. Her appointment to this position is pending the approval of the trustees, but if approved, she will begin her new job July 1.