Search for the Next Vice President of the University
and Dean of Academic Affairs

Search Committee Questions for Candidates
Thursday, February 8, 2007

In Academic Affairs there are currently a number of initiatives in various stages of implementation.  Which of these initiatives do you see as most important, how do you plan to shepherd it and what, if anything, do you plan to change about it?

Please comment on the proliferation of courses, programs, and academic offerings.  What effects (positive and negative) do you think this has on the overall strength of a St. Lawrence education?  Can this pattern continue without a significant realignment of resources?

Faculty morale: low participation in a variety of faculty activities needs to be reversed.  It always seems to be the same people doing the majority of the work.  Low attendance at faculty meetings seems to be the rule rather than the exception, committee membership is often shouldered by the same people contributing to extracurricular work such as talented juniors program, McNair etc. 

All of these observations seem to point to low faculty morale and a significant proportion of the faculty disconnected from the work of the university.  Please comment on these observations and offer insights toward improving the situation.

More intensive advising, better assessment, more research and travel with students, new interdisciplinary initiatives, better mentoring of junior faculty--all of these things require time.  As Dean, what would you do to give faculty the time they need in order to do these things well? 

What is your vision for the role of technology and new media in teaching and learning at a liberal arts institution? Who are the primary players in achieving that vision? What is your role in that process? What priorities will you establish and which strategies will you use to take the immediate and next steps toward realizing this vision?

How do you define diversity and multiculturalism, and what is your plan for altering our curricula and practices to reflect that vision? How would you negotiate the tensions arising between diversity initiatives and the autonomy of departmental decision-making in the hiring process?

The Dean of Academic Affairs has significant opportunities to initiate change in the institution's academic structure and character; what is the most significant change you would seek to introduce in academics at SLU?

What do you perceive to be the biggest challenge facing the new dean of academic affairs? What are you most apprehensive about in taking on this position?

How do you perceive the balance between decision-making in concert with others (i.e., the establishment of ad hoc committees, advisory boards) versus making a decision on your own? In what contexts would one strategy prevail over the other?

The VP of the university and Dean of Academic Affairs plays a significant buffer role between the faculty and administration at SLU.  What qualities of leadership would you bring to the position that make you particularly well-suited to negotiating these complex administrative relationships, and to what extent do you perceive the academic dean's role as one of representing the faculty's interests in Vilas Hall?

Dr. Valerie D. Lehr
Letter of application/Dean statement
Curriculum vitae
Responses to Council Questions
Audio of Open Forum

Dr. Patti Frazer Lock
Letter of application/Dean statement
Curriculum vitae
Audio of Open Forum
Responses to Council Questions

Dr. Alec Michael Sheard III
Letter of application/Dean statement
Curriculum vitae
Audio of Open Forum
Distributed excellence
Responses to Council Questions

Dr. Eve W. Stoddard
Letter of application/Dean statement
Curriculum vitae
Audio of Open Forum
Responses to Council Questions

Dr. Robert Thacker
Letter of application/Dean statement
Curriculum vitae
Responses to Council Questions