As the academic year began, so did the search process for the new dean. The first step was creating a search committee, an action led by University Provost Gretchen Edwalds-Gilbert in partnership with Dr. Debra Woo ’86, chair of the Dental Faculty Council and assistant professor in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences.
“The process for creating search committees is specifically defined within the faculty handbook, which is helpful, so my job was to get the faculty together to elect seven dental school faculty representatives,” Woo says. Edwalds-Gilbert selected the additional six members of the 13-member committee.
The committee scheduled several listening sessions to gather input from stakeholders, using this feedback to create a prospectus outlining the responsibilities for the role and the qualities sought in the next dean.
“The goal of the search committee will be to identify a dean who brings strong academic and administrative experience, along with a deep appreciation for our humanistic values, focus on clinical dentistry and the culture that makes our dental school so special,”
says Woo.
Korn Ferry, the search firm engaged by the university for this process, will use the prospectus to identify potential candidates, and applicants may come from other sources as well. The committee will create a rubric for evaluating candidates, and they will recommend up to four finalists who will each spend a few days on campus meeting with faculty, staff, students and alumni. The standard timeline for conducting a comprehensive dean search is nine to 12 months.
“I am confident in the committee’s ability to find a competitive pool of finalists from which a new dean will be selected,” said Edwalds-Gilbert. “Together, the committee set a very high standard for the kind of leader we seek—one with vision, clarity and compassion. I am grateful for the dedication the committee brings to this process.”
Dr. Alan Gluskin ’72, professor and former chair of the Department of Endodontics, was elected co-chair of the search committee by his Dugoni School of Dentistry colleagues, and like Woo, he wants humanism to be front and center in the search for a new dean. Berit Gundersen, PharmD, dean of the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy, serves as the other co-chair of the committee.
“Humanism is the underpinning of our school,” Gluskin says, with practical implications. “To graduate excellent students in three years, the departments have to work together and the students need to understand that our philosophy of mutual respect holds them and us accountable.”
As an example of humanism in action, Gluskin describes Dr. Arthur A. Dugoni himself, who as dean made rounds of the dental school every Friday. “He would literally talk to everyone from department chairs and faculty to dental students and janitors. He wanted to understand how the school worked, and he listened carefully and showed compassion to everyone.”
For Gluskin, two of the traits he would like to see in the next dean are collaboration and trust. “If we have someone who can listen to diverse ideas and come up with the most reasonable way to empower people, then when he/she follows through on that collaboration, it demonstrates that we can trust our leader.”
Trust and collaboration are also qualities both Gluskin and Woo say will be reflected in the work of the search committee. “We’ve agreed that the process will be transparent while the candidate details are kept confidential,” says Gluskin.
The committee will share information as it’s appropriate to do so, particularly when the finalists visit campus. This will be an important time for the wider Dugoni School community to ask questions and share impressions of the final candidates. Following the procedure outlined in the faculty handbook, all feedback on the candidates will be compiled and provided to Edwalds-Gilbert who will make the final decision.
Woo says the search process is an opportunity for the dental school to move forward. “I believe people are turning the corner and feeling positive about the process,” she says. “I’m hopeful that at the end of the search process people will be happy that the university selected someone who will truly represent our dedicated faculty, staff and alumni—everyone who makes up the Dugoni family.”