Dean of students search almost finished

The search committee for the dean of students had its last meeting Tuesday. The candidates have all flown back to their respective schools. Now the campus waits.

With the search for the replacement of the dean of students and vice provost for students in its final stages, it is now up to Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson to choose a new dean before current Dean of Students Dick McKaig retires July 1.

But before Hanson can make a final decision, she said she wants to get a sense of the IU community’s reaction to the candidates.

“The next step is to gather the feedback from everybody who participated in any of the
meetings with the candidates,” Hanson said. “I used that same procedure when I chose the vice provost of faculty and academic affairs and the vice provost for undergraduate education, and I found it very useful.”

Hanson said she anticipates a lot of response because of the large number of “student constituencies.”

“Student feedback could have a big impact,” Hanson said.

Bloomington Faculty Council President Herb Terry, who attended all four of the public forums, said he expects varied opinions from students.

“I would be shocked if all the students and all the student groups lined up behind one of those candidates,” Terry said. “I think they’ll split.”

Even though students might have their own favorites, Terry said students should point out what’s important to them and show how the candidates “stack up.”

“Ultimately, the provost will make her own assessment, but sometimes these outside comments can lead the appointing officer to think about something in making that decision,” Terry said.

Hanson said she does not have a specific day on which she plans to make an offer, and it is not guaranteed that the candidate will accept.

“It can often take a while from the point an offer is made to things that have to go along from both sides in solidifying an agreement for someone to leave whatever job,” Hanson said.

But whomever she chooses, Hanson said she liked the candidates the search committee brought forward. Terry said he agreed.

“I was impressed by both the quality and diversity of the candidates the search committee turned up,” Terry said. “In one sense they’re all alike. I didn’t see any of them I would look at and say ‘no.’”

Hutton Honors College Dean Matthew Auer, who headed the search committee, said he was glad the IU community reacted to the candidates the way the committee thought they would.

“We felt that when folks got to meet candidates, they’d be impressed with what they saw,” Auer said. “We were proud of them and thought they were good.”

One element missing from the final four was an internal candidate, but Auer said he could not say who, or if anyone, from the University applied because of confidentiality. But Hanson said having a candidate from the inside or not was irrelevant.

“This was a search that wasn’t limited,” Hanson said. “It could have ended with an internal candidate, or an external candidate, or a mixture.”

But Hanson also said she is taking her decision seriously and appreciated that students, faculty and staff were engaged in the search.

“I do think the anxiety level can rise on the campus about how we can replace somebody who was so well-liked and so well-respected,” Hanson said. “Nobody’s going to be Dick McKaig, but I think the search committee did find people who are very, very good and they all have special strengths.”