Letters & Science dean finalists named

The names of three finalists for dean of the College of Letters and Science were presented this week to Chancellor John D. Wiley and Provost Peter D. Spear by a 17-person search-and-screen committee.

“The college is the largest academic unit on campus, and our search has yielded three highly qualified individuals interested in leading it into the future,” says Wiley. “The committee has done an excellent job of identifying top candidates from our own campus and another institution.”

The panel, chaired by John Schaffer, professor and director of the School of Music, conducted a nationwide search and recommended these three finalists:

• Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, deputy dean of the UW–Madison College of Letters and Science, associate dean for research and outreach and a communication arts professor who joined the faculty in 1978. She is the college’s second-highest ranking administrative officer.
• Gary D. Sandefur, UW–Madison sociology professor. He joined the faculty in 1984 and served as interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs in 2001. Sandefur also served as associate vice chancellor for academic affairs from 1992-96.
• Robert J. Sternberg, psychology professor and founder and director of the Yale Center for the Psychology of Abilities, Competencies and Expertise at Yale University. He has served on the Yale faculty since 1975. Sternberg was the 2003 president of the American Psychological Association.

The university will invite all three finalists to meet with administrators, faculty, staff and students. A final decision is expected by the end of the summer.

The dean of the College of Letters and Science oversees a college that enrolls more than half of all UW–Madison students in its 39 departments and five professional schools. The college teaches almost 90 percent of freshman-sophomore credit hours.

The vacancy was created when Dean Phillip R. Certain announced his decision to retire effective June 30, capping 34 years of service to the campus, including an 11-year stint as dean of the college.