Con seeking dean

Seven faculty, no students sitting on search committee

A new Dean would be music to the Con's ears.

A Conservatory dean search committee has been actively pursuing candidates for a new dean of the Conservatory since February. "As soon as Karen Wolff resigned, we knew we were going to need a new dean and the search committee was instigated," said Roland Vamos, professor of viola and violin.

So far, the committee has been working on spreading the word of the job opening around the country and trying to attract the best candidates. "For the past month the dean search committee has been working hard. We feel the word has gotten out all over the country," said Michael Lynn, associate dean of the Conservatory and chair of the search committee.

Vamos said the committee has around 30 candidates and will attempt to narrow the selection down to at least three before classes end. They are still accepting applications and nominations, and the search is considered open-ended.

"When we find the person we want, we'll make them an offer," President Nancy Dye said.

The search committee is still putting together a profile of criteria for the new dean. At the last Conservatory Faculty meeting, faculty were invited to add criteria to a preliminary dean profile, as well as nominate candidates for the pool. The whole idea is to gather the broadest pool of applicants and nominations as possible.

"We've been trying to get nominations from a lot of people," said Lynn. "Our idea is not to miss anyone," he said.

President Nancy Dye said it won't be a problem to attract a highly qualified dean. "This is a very, very desirable deanship," she said.

The search process will work like other dean search committees; the committee will work to develop a final recommendation, and the final appointment will be made by Dye. Dye emphasized, however, that she would not contradict the opinion of the committee.

One difference between this search committee and others is that there are no students on it. Committee members were elected by the Conservatory Faculty, a body which has historically left students off its search committees, although it is not against College bylaws.

Despite this, Lynn said he hopes students will participate in the search process. He said students will soon receive mailings asking them what they would like to see in a dean. Lynn also said there will be student forums when the final candidates visit campus.

"There will be a lot of student involvement in [the forums], or so I hope," Lynn said. "Everyone has a chance to give input, ask questions and air concerns. Everyone's opinions are valued."

There are seven members of the search committee. Lynn, Vamos, Director of Music Education Joanne Erwin, Associate Voice Professor Lorainne Manz, Interim Dean of the Conservatory David Boe, Associate Professor of Wind Conducting Tim Weiss and Percussion Professor Michael Rosen.