Finalists for Dean of the College of Science and Engineering—July 29, 2021

Dear CSE Faculty, Staff, and Students,

I invite you to join me in welcoming five outstanding finalists for the position of Dean of the College of Science and Engineering. Public interviews will be held virtually from August 5 through August 17.

I want to especially thank the 13-member search committee, chaired by Dean Sri Zaheer of the Carlson School of Management, for its diligent work to recruit and review a strong and diverse pool and for providing me with excellent recommendations following their confidential interviews.

Each of the finalists will participate in a daylong virtual visit that will include a public forum and interviews with various constituencies and stakeholders of the College and the University. We will introduce each candidate one day ahead of each public interview, with names and CVs posted on the College of Science and Engineering search webpage.

I strongly encourage your engagement with these public interviews. You can review the candidates' materials, attend or view the public forums, or participate in appropriate group interviews. Most importantly, please provide your feedback on each of the candidates by completing the evaluation form by August 20 that also will be posted on the search webpage. Responses to these evaluations will be pivotal in the final decision.

Public forums

All faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other internal and external stakeholders are invited to attend the candidates’ public forums. Each 60-minute forum will include a 20-30–minute presentation by the candidate on the topic of “Vision for the future of CSE: Leading excellence and innovation in a strong multidisciplinary college of science and engineering,” followed by Q&A.

Please save the dates for the candidate forums. Details for joining each forum by Zoom will be posted to the search website the week of August 2, as well as conveyed in a subsequent email.

Candidate 1: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT Thursday, August 5
Candidate 2: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT Friday, August 6
Candidate 3: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, August 10
Candidate 4: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT Thursday, August 12
Candidate 5: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, August 17

The candidate forums will be recorded and may be viewed online with a University login or individual permission for a limited period.

Interview sessions

I also encourage you to participate in interview sessions that will be arranged for CSE faculty, staff, students, external stakeholders, and other University constituent groups. Please watch for email invitations to these sessions.

Please consult the search webpage for information about the search process. If you have any questions about the public interviews, please contact search committee chair Dean Sri Zaheer or Laura Negrini in my office at umn-csesearch@umn.edu.

Sincerely yours,

Rachel T.A. Croson
Executive Vice President and Provost