Academic Affairs continues, the university's search committee has finalized the position profile that will be used by the consulting firm Isaacson, Miller to find candidates. The firm is in charge of advertising the position in academic news sources and then circulating the lengthy position profile to potential prospects.
The position profile includes a history on DePauw, the university's future goals, and the job's expectations. According to the profile, the VPAA reports directly to President Brian Casey and is the lead academic officer responsible for overseeing various academic programs, the faculty, the core curriculum, departmental majors, interdisciplinary programs and centers of inquiry, and several administrative offices that support academic life.
English professor Wayne Glausser, who is heading the committee, said he is confident that the firm understands the type of candidates the university is looking for and that they will get these prospects interested in working for DePauw.
"What we are saying in the profile is that this is a unique opportunity for someone that is ambitious and who we think could be a really great leader," Glausser said. "We're not just asking for somebody to do a job for a few years. We're asking for an original, dynamic person who has the energy necessary for this time in our history."
The main search consultant at Isaacson, Miller will consistently report back to Glausser and President Casey on the progress. Glausser is not sure how many initial candidates the firm will find, but he expects the committee will narrow the search down to eight to 10 candidates for the interview process at the beginning of next semester. The candidates will be further narrowed before making visits to campus that spring.
"One thing we really stress in the profile is that DePauw is at a particularly interesting time in its history," Glausser said. "[Dr. Casey] has a plan for where we should be in 2020 and some of that plan involves enrichment of all aspects of the university's intellectual life."
The VPAA would be heavily involved in strengthening faculty development and academic programs as well joining efforts with the Dean of the School of Music Mark McCoy in further connecting the School of Music and the College of Liberal Arts.
Since the VPAA works as an advocate for both the faculty and the students, the committee has appointed senior Arezoo Nazari as representative of the student body to act in the selection process. Nazari understands how important it is that the new VPAA interacts well with students and should be someone who is willing work towards solutions concerning academic life.
"To be able to know what the issues are or what students want is really important," Nazari said. "We don't want someone that only the faculty members pick because. ... the issues aren't the same," Nazari said.
DePauw's current VPAA Dr. David Harvey has served as the interim vice president since the 2009-'10 academic year after then vice president, Dr. Neal Abraham, left to take a position as Executive Director of the Five Colleges Consortium in Amherst, Mass.
Glausser expects that the committee will begin the airport interview process in early February and hold campus visits in the spring. The university aims to have a newly appointed VPAA by this summer in time for the 2013-2014 school year.