Purdue announces search for College of Liberal Arts dean
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University is conducting a national search for dean of its College of Liberal Arts.
"Purdue's College of Liberal Arts is known for its leading faculty; significant scholarship, research and publications; outreach through arts exhibitions; and nationally ranked graduate programs," said Randy Woodson, Purdue's executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. "We are looking for someone who will continue the tradition of excellence as the college continues to move forward."
Mark J.T. Smith, dean of the Graduate School, is leading the search for the newly reorganized college.
"The College of Liberal Arts is one of the largest at Purdue, with more than 250 tenured or tenure-track faculty, more than 4,600 undergraduate students, and 860 graduate students," Smith said. "The recent restructuring of the college presents an opportunity to create a new and exciting vision for the students and faculty in liberal arts."
Starting July 1, the College of Liberal Arts will be home to one school and eight departments as part of the realignment. The college comprises the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts and the departments of Anthropology, Communication, English, Foreign Languages and Literatures, History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Sociology.
Smith said the committee hopes to announce its dean selection by the end of the spring semester.
Irwin Weiser, professor of English, has been serving as interim dean since July when John Contreni, professor of history, ended his three-year appointment.
Members of the search committee are:
* Ellen Gruenbaum, professor and head of the Department of Anthropology.
* Matthias Steup, professor and head of the Department of Philosophy.
* Howard Sypher, professor and head of the Department of Communication.
* Rosalee Clawson, associate professor of political science.
* Patricia Hart, professor of foreign languages and literatures.
* Nancy Gabin, associate professor of history.
* Fenggang Yang, professor of sociology.
* Dennis Ichiyama, professor of visual and performing arts.
* Charles Ross, professor of English.
* Juan Meneses, graduate student in literature.
* Corrina Smith, undergraduate student in history.
* Lou Kontos, academic adviser for visual and performing arts.
* Lalita Amos, alumna, member of the Dean's Advisory Council and president of Total Team Solutions.
* Thomas Jenkins, alumnus and attorney at Hall Render Killian.
The dean of the College of Liberal Arts is an endowed deanship, named in honor of Justin S. Morrill and one of only four such college deanships at Purdue. Morrill was a driving force in the 1862 College Land Grant Act, which created the foundation for universities such as Purdue. The legislation is now known as the Morrill Act in his honor.
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Sources: Randy Woodson, 765-494-9709, woodson@purdue.edu
Mark J. T. Smith, 765-494-2604, mjts@purdue.edu