The search for a new dean of the University of Wisconsin’s School of Human Ecology is in full swing following last week’s announcement of a 13-person search and screen committee.

The committee is currently in the stage of recruiting exceptional applicants, according to chair David Riley, who is also a UW professor of human development and family studies.

This stage extends beyond merely posting the job opening in newsletters, Riley said. Instead, the effort relies on the collective professional networks of committee members and their knowledge of great leaders around the country and the world, he added.

The new dean will receive an energizing start, as their term will coincide with the addition of much-improved facilities, Riley said.

These improved facilities are part of the $52 million expansion and renovation that began in 2010 and effectively double the available space for the school, according to a UW statement. Construction is slated to wrap up in summer 2012.

Riley said the search and screen committee is looking for someone who can fully utilize their knowledge and diverse expertise within human ecology to lead the school into the future.

“It’s a great time for thinking about how to push us to the next level of excellence, so we’re looking for a visionary leader who is able to dream big,” Riley said. “This is an extraordinary university and is a wonderful time in the history of the School of Human Ecology to come in as a leader.”

The school is comprised of trans-disciplinary departments with a collective mission of improving the quality of human life, according to the school’s current dean, Robin Douthitt.

Douthitt said that through education, research and outreach, the school touches on several dimensions of human interactions within communities and non-profit organizations, the interface between consumers and the market, the progression of human development through infancy to old age and also designed environments and their effects on people.

Faculty and staff come from a wide array of domains and include counseling psychologists, economists, architects, cyber-artists, community developers and textile designers, Douthitt added.

Douthitt, who has served as the School of Human Ecology’s dean since 2001, said when the new dean comes on board in the fall, they will be participating in a “year-long celebration” of the new facilities, citing the fact that any time programs get renovations or expansions like this, they will forever be transformed.