Ed School Names Search Committee

The Graduate School of Education has appointed a five-member search committee for a new dean, an associate dean at the school said yesterday.

President Derek C. Bok called for the formation of the committee just days after outgoing Dean Patricia A. Graham informed the faculty of her resignation on January 31, said Catherine E. Snow, an associate dean at the Education School.

Graham announced that after this summer, she will leave her post as dean to assume the presidency of the Spencer Foundation, a prominent Chicago-based research institute that provides $10 million in grants each year to study education.

Although she plans to take a leave of absence next year, Graham will return the following year as a professor at the Education School, where she will teach part-time while continuing her duties as Spencer Foundation president.

Graham has been hailed by educators for leaving a legacy of innovation and development in the field of education.

Besides Snow, there are four other senior faculty members serving on the committee. They include Larsen Professor of Education and Human Development Robert A. Levine, Professor of Education Sara L. Lightfoot, Professor of Education Richard J. Murnane, Director of Teacher Education Vito Perrone.

The members of the committee are representative of the school's three departments. Snow and Levine belong to the department of Administration, Planning and Social Policy; Lightfoot and Murnane represent Human Development; and Perrone is the sole committee member from the department of Teaching, Curriculum and Learning Environment.

"The committee members represent the gender and ethnic diversity of the Ed School," said Snow. "In addition, they have been here a reasonable length of time and will probably be here for a long time to come. They represent the various interests and orientation of the faculty."

The committee has already met with Bok once, at which time Snow said he advised them at length about the kind of considerations to take in the search. Bok asked the committee to compile a short list of suggested candidates, which he would then pass on to his successor.

Snow and Dudley F. Blodget, director of development and external relations, both emphasized, though, that the committee is only advisory. The new University president, they said, may decide to completely ignore their recommendations.

"The president could come in and decide to form an entirely new group," said Blodget.

Snow said the committee's only guidelines are that they are "looking for someone who's a leader in educational thinking and research, someone who can offer intellectual leadership to members of the faculty and someone who has administrative experience and potential."

The committee will consult frequently with other Education School faculty in coming up with the candidate pool, Snow said.

Search Timetable

The committee does not expect to have any sort of list together until the end of March, said Snow.

Snow added that the committee will then narrow the field of candidates and may have a short list ready by early April.

"One hopes to push things along and be expeditious, but we don't know how long it will really take," Blodget said. He emphasized that such processes always takes longer than expected.

"Obviously President Bok would like to get on with the process so that he can get to the next step of collecting information on the candidates," said Snow.

Snow added, though, that the committee is not pressed to adhere to a strict timetable.

"It's not like the search committee for the new president," she said.