Chancellor Lawrence S. Bacow has appointed two separate search committees to identify candidates for the positions of Dean for Student Life and Dean of Undergraduate Education.
The new Deans will report to the chancellor. Both positions are expected to be filled by the start of the 2000-2001 academic year.
Associate Provost/Professor Phillip L. Clay chairs the committee for the Dean for Student Life, who will succeed Dean Margaret R. Bates. This will be a national search.
Professor of Biology Graham Walker heads the committee for a Dean of Undergraduate Education, who will succeed Dean Rosalind H. Williams. This position is expected to be filled by a faculty member.
"ODSUE [the Office of the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education] has undergone tremendous change in the recent past," Chancellor Bacow said. "Roz and Margaret have successfully integrated a diverse set of offices to produce the modern ODSUE, and in the process, delivered far better services to our students. Moreover, they have refocused attention on the need to better integrate classroom education with residential and co-curricular life.
"Our goal is not to bring about another round of sweeping organizational change, but rather to strengthen the organization so it can better respond to the opportunities that lie ahead. These opportunities are many. In the next five years we will open a new undergraduate residence, implement the new residence system, open a new sports and fitness center, launch the Cambridge-MIT partnership, experiment with new ways of teaching made possible by the d'Arbeloff Fund and the I-Campus initiative, and implement a new communication requirement. These are exciting times."
In addition to the chairs, members of the search committees are:
Student Life -- Professors Borivoje Mikic and Dick K.P. Yue, Dean Williams, Executive Vice President John R. Curry, Vice President for Human Resources Laura Avakian, materials science and engineering graduate student Luis A. Ortiz (president of the Graduate Student Council), and Christopher R. Rezek, a senior in linguistics and philosophy.
Undergraduate Education -- Professors Jeffrey H. Shapiro, Joanne Yates and Phillip Clay, and Associate Professor Diana Henderson. Professor Lotte Bailyn, who is on sabbatical, will serve as informal advisor.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on January 26, 2000.
