Dean search narrowed to three for College of Education, Health and Society

By Krista Savage, For The Miami Student

Miami's College of Education, Health and Society (EHS) is in the process of hiring a new dean.

Three candidates are up for the position. Each will be on campus during the first three weeks in March and will be holding two open forums, one for faculty and one for students. The forums will take place in McGuffey Hall and are open to all.

The first candidate to visit campus was Tracy Cross on Monday, March 3. He is currently a professor of psychology and executive director of the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Those responsibilities include supervising the Center for Gifted Education, including managing personnel, budgets and facilities. He attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and received his doctorate in educational psychology.

The second candidate, Michael Miller, held his sessions on Monday, March 9. Miller is the current senior associate dean in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas. He is responsible for academic and student matters of the college, including accreditation coordination and student enrollment management. He attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln where he received his doctorate of education with an emphasis on Continuing, Professional and Postsecondary Education.

The third candidate, Michael Dantley, will hold sessions on Wednesday, March 18. Dantley is the dean for the School of Education at Loyola University in Chicago. His responsibilities focus on executive work and working with the multiple challenges Colleges and Schools of Education are facing in the current economy. Dantley is also a Miami alumnus. He received his Masters of Education, then went on to become a professor and administrator at the Department of Educational Leadership.

Dawn Tsirelis is the assistant to the dean in EHS, and has had first-hand experience with former deans and is familiar with the responsibilities associated with the position.

"Any one of these three candidates could continue the legacy of outstanding leadership our college has enjoyed for many, many years," Tsirelis said.

Last year, the dean of EHS, Carine M. Feyton, resigned and became president of Texas Women's University. This year, Susan Moseley-Howard has served as interim dean. Now, the search for the new permanent dean of the college has begun.

The dean's responsibilities include fundraising, increasing alumni involvement and working directly with students, faculty and community members on all levels of academics. The EHS dean search committee hopes to select a candidate by May 1, but the process could stretch on as late as July. The new dean will begin immediately after being hired.

The search committee is a collection of 14 staff members, who are all affiliated with the College of Education, Health and Society, except for the chair of the committee Marek Dollár, who is dean of the College of Engineering and Computing.

"A quality candidate for dean must possess a strong record of leadership and administrative experience at an institution of higher learning," Dollár said. "This is among many qualities the committee is searching for when selecting the new dean."

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Another important factor in a dean's position is student connection and interaction. Many students want to be involved enough to know the dean. First-year Lauren Tracy is in EHS as an early childhood education major.

"The dean should be someone who has a lot of first-hand experience with working with people, and more importantly students," Tracy said. "I think [he or she] plays a big role in helping us prepare for the future."

The EHS committee encourages student involvement at the open forums with candidates.

"The mission of the College of Education, Health and Society at Miami University is to prepare transformative leaders," Dollár said. "Student involvement is essential in reaching goals and gaining feedback."