CSE Leadership Transition Update - sent Feb. 3, 2021

From the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost

Dear CSE Faculty, Staff, and Students:

I am pleased to provide an update on the launch of a national search for a new dean of the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering. Our College of Science and Engineering is well-positioned to recruit a strong and diverse pool of candidates who will continue its positive trajectory as one of the best in the nation, with a unique interdisciplinary configuration, top programs in many fields, and a strong commitment to excellence, diversity, and innovation.

I have now appointed a search committee that will convene this month. The members of the committee were selected from a wide pool of nominations from the CSE community, carefully weighed to ensure that the committee would represent diverse viewpoints of multiple stakeholder groups. As with all dean searches, the committee is primarily made up of faculty who have the academic networks and expertise required for an academic hiring process, but also includes staff, student, and external representation. Many thanks to all who sent nominations; I am grateful for your help. I also want to thank Sri Zaheer, Dean of the Carlson School of Management, for agreeing to chair this important committee.

The search committee will work with a search firm to gather input from listening sessions and then to develop a position profile that reflects this broad input. The engagement of the entire CSE community in these listening sessions will be pivotal in this process; I hope you will watch for the invitations to participate and join as you are able. We will also provide an opportunity for written comments.

The position profile developed through this collaborative process will guide the recruitment and evaluation of applicants. The search committee will engage in a confidential phase of candidate recruitment and screening that will identify a small subset of individuals to be recommended to me for consideration as finalists. Once finalists have been announced, please watch for information about public interviews, when your engagement will again be critical: I will greatly value your feedback to help me evaluate finalists during the final decision-making stage.

We have established a CSE Dean Search webpage on the CSE website. It includes a list of the appointed search committee members. Search updates will be posted on this site as they occur. I will also continue to provide periodic email updates to the college as the search progresses. Questions about the search process may be directed to search coordinators Kate Tyler and Laura Negrini in my office via email to umn-csesearch@umn.edu.

I look forward to continuing to work with Dean Mos Kaveh as we complete the search for the next dean. Dean Kaveh’s outstanding collaborative leadership in this role since 2018, and previously as associate dean for research and planning, has positioned the college extremely well for the future.

Thank you for your continued commitment to the College of Science and Engineering and the University, and especially for your engagement as this important search moves forward.

Sincerely yours,

Rachel T.A. Croson
Executive Vice President and Provost