University of Wisconsin administration suspended the search for a new dean of students Thursday with plans to resume the process in fall 2006.

UW has been in the market for a new dean to replace former dean of students Luoluo Hong, who resigned last summer. Interim Dean of Students Lori Berquam assumed the vacant position upon Hong's departure to Arizona State University.

The continuation of the selection process is postponed so students can have an active role in the selection process, UW officials said.

"We don't want to do anything that will leave students out of the deal," said UW professor David Nelson, faculty chair of the Search and Screen Committee.

A Search and Screen Committee consisting of staff, faculty and students is appointed by the provost and the Associated Students of Madison Shared Governance Committee anytime there is a job vacancy in UW administration.

The committee narrows the applicant pool to five or six candidates, who then come to campus to get aquainted with their potential coworkers, the campus and the students.

The Search and Screen Committee — along with the provost and the chancellor — have decided to postpone the process because they were worried the final candidates' campus visits would be scheduled for some time during summer.

Consequently, students and prospective candidates would not be able to interact, and campus would not portray the same character as during the school year.

"There should be the opportunity for anybody who wants to — anybody who cares — to talk to the candidates about important issues," Nelson said.

According to Katrina Flores, student chair of the Search and Screen Committee, all of the students should care about this decision because the dean of students plays such a substantial role in students' experiences at UW.

The dean of students is in charge of many different offices, both academic and non-academic, that affect the "campus climate" for each student, Flores said.

"The dean of students is the No. 1 student-advocate position on campus, with the most power," she said, "so it is really important for students to have as much of a say as possible."

Open forums during candidates' campus visits allow students to evaluate the candidates and for candidates to familiarize themselves with the campus.

The visits also serve as a recruitment opportunity for the administration to promote UW as the best place for the candidates to work.

"Those open sessions are what really, really pushed us to postpone the search until fall," Flores said.

Ultimately, the chancellor and the provost decide who to hire, but, according to Nelson and Flores, students'opinions of the candidates are integral to the decision-making process.

Nelson added it is unlikely any candidate with whom the students were uncomfortable would be hired.

Flores said the administration made the right decision by postponing
the search until next semester, as opposed to continuing the process and holding student-candidate forums over the summer."I am really happy that it worked out this way," Flores said, "and not [through] some sort of back door because the administration has the ability to do that."