Few attend meeting on Malkiel’s successor

The committee hopes to name a successor to Nancy Malkiel — who announced in September that she will step down as dean at the end of the year — by the end of January, University Provost Christopher Eisgruber ’83 said. This would allow the incoming dean to work in collaboration with Malkiel and other administrators before officially assuming the post on July 1, 2011.

Eisgruber, the committee chair, fielded all student questions and explained the committee’s approach.

Emphasizing that “personnel processes need to be confidential in character,” Eisgruber did not offer the names or qualifications of potential candidates.

He maintained that the committee is looking for “scholarly distinction, a deep commitment to undergraduate teaching and managerial skill” in candidates.

Asked about whether the change in leadership will affect the controversial grading policy instituted under Malkiel’s tenure, Eisgruber responded that “all we are doing is searching for the next dean.”

In addition to Eisgruber, the committee is composed of six professors and two student representatives, who were selected by the committee chair after soliciting recommendations from the USG and other campus sources.

Students sit on the committee because of the University’s emphasis on undergraduate education, Eisgruber said. The student representatives are classics major Veronica Shi ’11 and operations research and financial engineering major Michael Weinberg ’11, who is chair of the USG Undergraduate Life Committee. In serving on the committee, all members are expected to put aside personal bias, including their academic interests, Eisgruber said.

Stephen Stolzenberg ’13, the only student in the audience, asked for details about the secrecy of the committee’s procedures. Eisgruber responded that as a private institution, the University “has an advantage over public schools” because it is not obliged to operate under the strict transparency standards that bind public schools when making faculty appointments. This allows the University to keep candidates and committee proceedings as private as possible, he explained.

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Eisgruber said he hopes students will offer their perspectives throughout the committee’s search process, noting that they can submit comments via e-mail for the committee to review.

Correction: An earlier version of this article mischaracterized the process by which the two student representatives on the committee were selected.