Paul J. Fonteyn, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs has released a memo detailing an ongoing search for new Deans to head up the colleges of Liberal Arts and Science and Mathematics. The origins of this effort stem from the recent announcement of the present interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences stepping down from the position.

Fonteyn views the situation as an opportunity to “Formalize the separation” of the College of Arts and Sciences into two autonomous divisions, allowing each college to better meet the needs of the students.

Fonteyn has commissioned two search committees to conduct the selection of candidates for the newly minted positions. In his memo, Fonteyn illustrates the needs of the University to select candidates “with outstanding leadership abilities, a record of creativity, success in building academic programs, significant achievement in reaching out to communities, and a strong commitment to excellence in teaching and scholarship.”

In an interview regarding the search committees, Fonteyn emphasized the benefits of “academically enhanced identities” with the formal separation of the colleges, allowing each one to devote more attention to their respective programs, creating “vibrant colleges” which will ultimately result in a better educational experience for students at the university. Thus far, “candidates from across the U.S.” are being reviewed by the committees in a “testimony to how attractive UMB is to the nation.” Fonteyn anticipates the announcement of final selections to occur sometime between late March and mid-April of this semester.

Faculty and staff members of the search committees are as follows:

Liberal Arts: Committee Chair Robert Crossley (English), Jennifer Radden (Philosophy), Julie Winch (History), Hubert Walters (Music), Joan Lukas (Mathematics), Russell Schutt (Sociology), Louisa Tseng (Healey Library), Catherine Lynde (Economics) and Stephen Mrozowski (Anthropology). Science and Mathematics: Committee Chair Michael Greeley (Mathematics), Gordon Wallace (E.C.O.S.), Michelle Foster (Chemistry), Steven Ackerman (Biology), Joel Fowler (Healey Library), Zong Guo-Xia (Earth and Geographic Sciences), Ellen Bruce (Gerontology Center), Stephen Arnason (Physics), and Daniel Simovici (Computer Science).