Marquette announced last week that it will soon begin its search for a new business dean, and for the third time ever, a student voice will be included in the process.
Alexandra Dossey, a senior in the College of Business Administration, will be representing the student body in the search for the new dean of the College of Business. She said she is confident that they can select right person who is both experienced and personable.
“I’m looking for someone who knows how to connect with students,” Dossey said in an email. “Obviously, we’re looking for certain qualifications and experience, but I really want someone who can communicate and motivate the students in the business school and help recruit incoming freshmen to our program. The business school has been taking many steps in restructuring and the next step is finding that leader.”
The committee will be seeking a permanent placement for the position vacated by Linda Salchenberger in July 2012. The original goal was to fill the position by last spring, but it was delayed following the resignation of former University President the Rev. Scott Pilarz last fall.
Now the search is back on, and will begin four to six weeks after the start of the provost search so that the provost can be involved in the final say. That said, Dossey said she expects to have plenty of say in whom she and the other 12 representatives will select as their final candidate.
“Why select a student if they didn’t want our input?” Dossey said. “The committee is full of professionals so I don’t expect that I will be making final decisions … I wouldn’t want all of that responsibility anyway. I’m just excited to work with so many different professionals and collaborate to find the best dean for the business school.”
Dossey was chosen to sit on the committee through a process in which each department head in the business school nominated a student. The co-chairs then selected which of the nominated students would take part in the search process.
“We wanted a student who’s mature, organized and has displayed leadership capabilities throughout their years at Marquette,” said Joseph Daniels, one of the search’s co-chairs and chair of Marquette’s economics department. “We wanted an upperclassman who would have an idea of what kind of dean we want representing our college.”
For Dossey, the goal is to provide the student perspective, which she said is not always easy to share with the administration.
“The committee is full of experienced professionals who are dedicated to Marquette, but they don’t know what goes on in the halls,” Dossey said.
According to Marquette’s protocol for conducting dean searches, the provost coordinates and oversees the search process and that the final decision on all dean appointments rests with the president.
The protocol, however, does not mention student representation on the committee during the selection of a new dean.
“Additional discussion was done by the upper administration that advised that a student be included on the committee,” Daniels said. “Changes to the (protocol) document would have to be done by the academic senate. They would have to change the guidelines to include students as part of the process and clear up some questions, like how many students should be represented in each committee and how they are selected.”
This is the first year that students are included on search committees for a dean or the provost.
Marquette Student Government President Kyle Whelton, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, will be contributing to the provost search, while Abigail Deats, a senior in the College of Engineering, will be contributing to the engineering dean search.
