Search for the Next Dean for Academic Affairs

Dear colleagues,

I hope you have had an excellent start to the semester.

I am writing today with information about the process of searching for the next Senior Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs. I imagine this appointment will be for a four-year term, with the possibility of renewal for a second term. This will allow the new dean to return to their teaching and scholarship/creative work after their contribution to this form of shared governance.

This is a critical moment in higher education, and the person stepping into this position will play a key role in shaping Bowdoin’s future. Every dean has the opportunity to make the position their own and to partner with other senior leaders and colleagues to effect meaningful change across the College. The dean's responsibilities include hiring, mentoring, and retaining excellent faculty, and maintaining our commitment to teaching and scholarly excellence. As a partner in our shared governance practices, the ideal candidate would represent the faculty well, defend and champion the curriculum, and support the faculty and staff in their academic work.

I have formed a search committee that includes five elected members of the faculty and two members of the academic staff. The committee will be integral in providing recommendations to me about this appointment, and I am grateful to the following individuals for their willingness to serve in this role.

Allison Crosscup, Director of Academic Advancement and Strategic Priorities
Keona Ervin, Associate Professor of Gender, Sexuality, & Women’s Studies
Hadley Horch, Norma L. and Roland G. Ware, Jr. Professor of Biology and Neuroscience
Shreyas Sreenath, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Cindy Stocks, Director of Student Fellowships and Research
Karen Topp, Senior Lecturer in Physics
Peggy Wang, Associate Professor of Art History and Asian Studies

I am also grateful to members of the Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs for their counsel and for their help with the election.

The committee’s first task will be to recommend whether or not we should limit the search to internal candidates. Central to this decision is, first, knowing whether there is a significant pool of internal candidates who would serve effectively in this important role; and, second, determining whether those same candidates would be willing to take on this position.

The committee needs your help in making that recommendation, and I hope you will share your insights and nominations.

Through the linked form, please list the qualities and/or experiences that you believe to be essential and/or beneficial in a candidate for this position; and also describe the particular opportunities and challenges you think the person serving in this role will likely face. Please also list the name(s) of any full professor (list here), including yourself, if applicable, who you would like to nominate for the role. It would be very helpful if you could also describe the reasoning for your nomination(s). Please provide your feedback by September 22. All of your feedback will be shared with the committee. The committee will reach out to strong candidates to assess their interest in advance of making their recommendation about the course of the search.

I know the committee greatly appreciates you taking the time to share your thoughts, as do I.

Sincerely,

Safa