With Provost Susan Prager's impending departure this June, a committee has begun its search to replace one of the College's top administrators -- though some students have expressed concern that, due to the lack of a student member, the committee will only take into account faculty opinion.
Professor Lenore Grenoble, the chair of the linguistic and cognitive science department, heads the ad hoc committee charged with finding Prager's replacement.
Grenoble explained to The Dartmouth that it is generally the case that a student member is not included on a committee charged with searching for a purely administrative -- rather than academic -- post.
The traditional lack of formal student participation in academic searches does not sit well many members of the Student Assembly, including Stephanie Bonan '03, chair of the Assembly's administration and faculty relations committee.
"Dartmouth is at a crucial point right now in determining its academic future, and the provost is the chief academic officer of the college," Bonan said. "Students are concerned with the academic future of the College, so why not have a student involved in the process?"
Last term, Bonan and Michael Perry '03, chair of the Assembly's academic affairs committee, worked to pass a resolution insuring student involvement in the selection process.
The resolution calls for the creation of a student focus group -- run by the Assembly -- which would interview and evaluate all candidates for the position, culminating in a report to be submitted to the search committee. The students would also meet with the committee to foster a greater understanding between the two groups, Bonan explained.
According to Grenoble, committee members "will be happy to meet with the Student Assembly" during the search process.
Although the search committee is "moving as fast as [it] can," Grenoble said, as of now, the search process is still in its infancy, and the current focus centers around forming an applicant pool. A letter was sent to faculty members requesting nominations for the position, and an advertisement announcing the availability of the position has been placed in several magazines, including the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The College is also enlisting the aid of a private search firm.
"We are trying to hit every possible way of finding the best possible candidates," Grenoble said.
Despite the intense competition among colleges for well-qualified administrative officials, Grenoble is confident that the College will have no trouble attracting top candidates. She cited Prager herself -- who assumed the role of provost two years ago, after serving as dean of the law school at the University of California Los Angeles -- as a prime example.
"Susan Prager is an excellent provost and an outstanding person," Grenoble said. "I am very sad to see her go."
In addition to Grenoble, the committee consists of three faculty members from undergraduate arts and sciences departments -- Native American Studies Professor Colin Calloway, Computer Science Chair David Nicol and Studio Art Chair Colleen M. Randall -- and a faculty member from each of the three professional schools -- Associate Physiology and Biochemistry Professor Leslie Henderson, of Dartmouth Medical School, Marketing Professor Punam Keller, of Tuck Business School and Engineering Professor Erland Schulson, of Thayer Engineering School.
