Leadership at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine; Formation of the Dean Search Advisory Committee
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Last month, Medical Campus Provost Karen Antman and I announced the appointment of Prof. Cataldo Leone as Dean ad interim of the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM), effective April 1, following the retirement of Dean Jeffrey Hutter. Professor Leone is an accomplished researcher and clinician and deeply respected member of our faculty community, and we are grateful for his willingness to serve during this period of transition.
With that interim appointment in place, we must now turn to the task of identifying a permanent dean of the Goldman School of Dental Medicine. The process for constituting a Dean Search Advisory Committee, outlined in the BU Faculty Handbook, specifies that: “the advisory committee shall consist of three faculty members elected by the faculty of the School for which a dean is to be selected, two faculty members elected by the Faculty Council from other Schools, and as many as three members designated by the provost.”
The faculty members who are appointed to serve on the Advisory Committee should be among our most thoughtful, engaged, and committed scholars, teachers, and leaders. The faculty most well-positioned to carry out this work will be actively engaged in significant ways in their professional communities and within their academic disciplines. Please note that no member of the Advisory Committee may be considered for the position of dean.
I am requesting that the faculty in the Goldman School of Dental Medicine organize internally to solicit nominations and to elect three faculty representatives to the Advisory Committee. Any individual who would have a role in overseeing the election within GSDM should neither wish to serve on the committee nor want to be a candidate for the dean’s position. I have asked Ana Keohane, Clinical Assistant Professor and Chair of the GSDM Faculty Forum, to organize the election to identify the GSDM representatives.
Boston University’s Faculty Council will also be sending an email communication to all members of the faculty on both campuses requesting nominations of candidates external to GSDM to fill the two elected seats on the Advisory Committee. Nominations or expressions of interest can be sent to the Faculty Council (fafc@bu.edu). Please note that membership on the Faculty Council itself is not an eligibility requirement for election to the Search Advisory Committee by the Faculty Council. I request submission of the results of both of these elections by May 1, 2021. Following receipt, I will appoint additional members so that the Committee will be assembled and prepared to begin its work immediately.
Please join me again in thanking Dean ad interim Leone for his service and leadership. The formal appointment of the GSDM Dean Search Advisory Committee is forthcoming, and I appreciate your contributions to and support of this effort.