Of the five searches currently underway to fill important administrative positions at the College, only the search for a new Career Services director is near completion.
Search committees have been formed for only two of the five vacant positions -- the Career Services director and director of the Native American Program. The College also needs to find replacements for the director of the College News Service, the director of the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding and the assistant dean of freshmen.
The search committee for the new Career Services director, which is chaired by Senior Associate Dean of the College Dan Nelson, has arrived at a short list of five candidates. Nelson said the College hopes to have a new director named by Jan. 1.
The search committee for the Native American Program director, which is also chaired by Nelson, is currently deciding whether or not to invite more candidates to interview for the position.
The search committee for the new Career Services director started its search over Summer term to fill the position that became vacated when former Career Services Director Bill Wright-Swadel left for Harvard University.
During the past term, the committee, which is composed of administrators, faculty members and two students, has narrowed the pool of applicants to a short list. Candidates were chosen on the basis of their applications and resumes.
Nelson said the position was advertised in both national and professional publications. The application process was initially open to anyone, including members of the Dartmouth community, Nelson said.
Nelson said every administrative position on campus has an established job description that guides search committees to look for certain talents and types of experience in applicants.
The five candidates will all be visiting campus during the next two weeks to be interviewed by students and faculty who are not on the search committee.
"Shortly after the interviews are concluded, the committee will hear feedback from the people involved with the interviewing process," Nelson said.
Based on this feedback, the search committee "makes a recommendation to me about the strongest candidate," Nelson said. A job offer will then be extended to the candidate.
Nelson said as chair of the committee, he is responsible for the final decision. The names of candidates on the short list are kept secret.
"We try to give candidates assurance of as much confidentiality as possible," Nelson said. Secrecy is maintained to keep news of the possible hiring from trickling back to the candidates' home campuses or employers.
Nelson said the committee that has been searching for a new director of the Native American Program has been working since last year. Several applicants were interviewed on campus last fall but the committee did not feel ready to make a recommendation, Nelson said.
He said the committee will decide soon whether to hire someone for the position now or bring more candidates to campus to be interviewed. He hopes to have a new director for the Native American Program by Spring term.
Nelson said the director does not have to be Native American. "The goal of the search is to fill the position with someone who'd be a successful in carrying out job description," he said.
Dean of Freshmen Peter Goldsmith said the College will not have any public information about the search for an assistant dean of freshmen until early in the Spring term.
According to the office of Deputy Provost Bruce Pipes, search committees for the directors of the News Service and for the Dickey Center have not yet been formed.
