After months of deliberation, a University of Wisconsin search and screen committee announced Thursday three candidates to take over as dean of students, a position that has not been filled on a permanent basis since June 2005.
The candidates include Interim Dean of Students Lori Berquam; Timothy Gordon, an associate dean of student services and registration in the School of Continuing Studies at Northwestern University; and Brian Rose, associate vice president for student affairs at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Berquam has held the job on an interim basis since former dean Luoluo Hong accepted a position at Arizona State University's West Campus, leaving what she called a "toxic situation" in her position at UW.
"I am honored to be on the short list and would love to continue to work with the students and faculty [at UW]," Berquam said Thursday.
UW Provost Patrick Farrell, who along with Chancellor John Wiley will select from the candidates, said the plan is to schedule campus visits with all three for a day and a half in January. This allows the candidates to meet with students and allows Farrell and Wiley to gauge students' opinions of the finalists, Farrell added.
"This is a challenge," he said. "All the candidates are outstanding in different ways."
According to Berquam, some of her goals for the university, should she stay, include making UW more well-known outside the state of Wisconsin and helping to accommodate students by pushing for an increase in need-based financial aid.
Gordon, meanwhile, said he is passionate about assisting students in achieving their academic goals in his current role at Northwestern and said he would love the opportunity to work at an institution with as rich an academic experience as UW.
He added his goals would be to get to know the needs of the students, faculty and staff of the university and stressed his commitment to constant communication with students.
The dean should help students "champion ideas as well as challenge ideas," Gordon added. He also said he hopes to work proactively and to "coach students … to navigate the complexities of the university" while being able to balance university obligations.
The third candidate, Rose, echoed similar sentiments, saying the challenges of today's college students include managing their education with extracurricular jobs and activities, as well as dealing with ever-increasing tuition bills. Because of those challenges, Rose said, college students need good academic advising to ensure that students feel they had a good educational experience when they graduate.
Rose said he is not currently seeking positions at any other universities and that Wisconsin is one of the few places he would be willing to move to.
"Coming to UW would be an exciting opportunity in my career and one of the very few places that I would leave Rutgers for," Rose said. "The centrality of the state university — that people recognize it for what it is — is inspiring."
UW biochemistry professor David Nelson, faculty chair of the search and screen committee, said applicants were considered for their experience with large universities and in dealing with academic issues such as student housing and student services.
According to Nelson, all of the finalists understand the nature of shared governance and the importance it holds at UW. Students, faculty and staff work together on many issues, he said, noting how important it is for this idea to continue with the new dean.
Nelson said that in the beginning of the search process, Farrell told the search and screen committee that the dean of students' job is one of the most difficult jobs on campus.
Associated Students of Madison Chair Dylan Rath said committee members have a preference toward "some candidates," but felt the decision should be based on all student opinions.