Other universities interview SIUC's College of Education, COBA deans

As SIUC makes its final decisions on candidates to fill two open positions on campus, two current deans have attracted interest from other universities. Dan Worrell, dean of the College of Business Administration, is a finalist for the dean position at both the University of Arkansas and Florida State University, while Keith Hillkirk, dean of the College of Education and Human Services, is a finalist for the education dean at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Worrell and Hillkirk were both unavailable for comment Monday. David Gearhart, vice chancellor for advancement at the University of Arkansas, is head of the hiring committee for the dean for the Sam Walton School of Business, where of six candidates, he said Worrell is one of two being seriously considered along with an internal candidate. Gearhart said Worrell's history in research made him a desirable candidate their school.

"He's been a sitting dean for quite some time," Gearhart said. "We have been very impressed with the job he has done at that institution." Gearhart said Worrell will visit the campus for interviews on May 15 and that they will make a final decision within the next two weeks. Alvin Stauber, chairman of the hiring committee at Florida State University in Tallahassee, declined to comment, but an article in The Tallahassee Democrat stated Worrell is one of five finalists for the university's College of Business dean.

Puncky Heppner, chairwoman of the hiring committee for the College of Education at the University of Missouri, said Hillkirk is one of three finalists for the dean position. Heppner said Hillkirk, the only candidate to have already served as a dean, has the experience for which they are looking.

"He is involved in a lot of things from the College of Education," Heppner said. "He brought a lot of maturity and experience to the table." Because Worrell and Hillkirk have yet to be offered positions, Dunn said the University will wait to see what the other schools do before pursuing replacements for them.

"We don't do anything until such time as we know that we have work to do," Dunn said. "Many of our deans on campus are respected and highly sought by others." While Dunn does not currently have to search for candidates to fill those positions, he is working with a search committee to find a replacement for the University's College of Engineering dean.

Dunn will meet with a hiring committee today to discuss the four candidates the committee has interviewed for position. Current Engineering Dean George Swisher will retire at the end of June.

The candidates are Bor Jang, chairman of the Mechanical Engineering Department at North Dakota State University; William Osborne, provost and vice chancellor of Academic Affairs at the University of Missouri at Kansas City; Fabizio Lombardi, chairman of the College of Engineering at Northeastern University; and Paul Chugh, professor of Mineral and Mining Resources at SIUC.

He didn't identify any of the four candidates as frontrunners for the job but said all of them would be a satisfying choice. Dunn is also working to hire a director for University Press, and he met with an advisory committee Monday to discuss the two candidates for press director to replace Frederick Stetter, who is moving to Texas this summer. He said the committee may make a decision in the next two weeks.

The finalists for the press director are Lane Adkins, books director for the University of Chicago Press, and Gregory Britton, director for the Minnesota Historical Society Press.