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College of Arts and Sciences faculty members at the University of Colorado at Boulder want another, external search for a new dean, according to the Daily Camera. Faculty members, in a memo to administrators, reportedly said they were not consulted by Provost Russell Moore on the pick of Jim White, professor of geological sciences at Boulder, as their new dean. They also object to Moore calling White’s three-year term an “interim” appointment. The typical deanship is five years. Immediate past dean Steven Leigh will join the anthropology faculty.
"We, as a whole, do not object to Jim White," Susan Kent, a professor of history with distinction, told the Camera. "He is a superb scientist and a man with integrity. He is effective. And if he ends up being the faculty's choice, that would be terrific. That's not the issue. The issue is that college rules and university rules and regent rules of faculty governance have been ignored and, in fact, violated." In an email to administrators, co-signed by 40 faculty members so far, Kent wrote that White now “starts on what is certain to be a lengthy and complicated and controversial process under a deep cloud of distrust and suspicion as to your motives.”
Ryan Huff, university spokesperson, said White’s appointment didn't violate university policy but admitted it strayed from cultural norms, according to the Camera. "The provost chose an interim appointment of up to three years because of the unique opportunity that the change in leadership at the college presents to ask critical questions, chart new courses and re-envision the future of the college and campus," Huff said.
