Open forums scheduled for LAS dean candidates

An anthropologist, a statistician, a mathematician and a professor of communication have been selected as the four finalists for the position of dean of the NIU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The candidates will each be presented at public forums for faculty and staff, beginning at 2:45 p.m. Monday, March 19, in Room 305 of the Holmes Student Center. (See below for a complete schedule.)

The four finalists to lead the university’s largest college were selected from a pool of candidates from across the nation. They are vying to fill the job vacated when Dean Frederick Kitterle died in May of 2005. Joe Grush has served as acting dean in the interim.

“We hope that the campus community will take advantage of the opportunities to meet and question the candidates first-hand,” Provost Raymond Alden said. “All those who attend will be asked to fill out a survey so that they can express their opinions, and that information will be weighed as we choose an individual to fill this important position.”

The schedule of visits, as well as a thumbnail biography and links to more information about each candidate, is available below. Their vitas are available online at http://www3.niu.edu/provost/news.htm.

Robert Ulin

Open Forum for Faculty and Staff
2:45 to 3:45 p.m. Monday, March 19
Holmes Student Center 305

Dr. Ulin has served as chair of the Department of Anthropology at Western Michigan University since 1999. Prior to that he taught at Allegheny College, where he was also chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. He earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from the New School for Social Research in 1980.

His research interests include anthropology of Europe, social and cultural theory, political economy, ethnohistory, globalization, nationalism, wine growing and commodities.

He is the author of “Understanding Cultures,” a sociology text in its second edition that has been translated into Spanish and Chinese.

G. Geoffrey Vining

Open Forum for Faculty and Staff
2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 22
Holmes Student Center, Capitol Room South

Dr. Vining is a professor in the Department of Statistics at Virginia Tech University. He served as head of that department from 1999 to 2006. Prior to coming to Virginia Tech he taught at the University of Florida. He earned his Ph.D. at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1988.

His areas of research include experimental design and analysis for quality improvement, response surface methodology and statistical process control.

He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and the American Society for Quality and has authored, or co-authored, several text books including “Statistical Methods for Engineers”and “Introduction to Linear Regression Analysis,” which is in its third edition.

Wendy Zabava Ford

Open Forum for Faculty and Staff
2:30 to 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, March 27
Holmes Student Center 305

Dr. Ford has served as executive associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University since 2004, and prior to that as associate dean of the college.

She is a professor of organizational communication, formerly served as chair of the Interpersonal/Organizational Area within the Department of Communication and was director of the Communication Research Center. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 1992.

Her areas of research include significant internal communication problems faced by organizational leaders and examining communication processes and outcomes in customer service contexts.

She is the author of “Communicating with Customers: Service Approaches, Ethics, and Impact.”

Christopher McCord

Open Forum for Faculty and Staff
2 to 3:15 p.m. Thursday, March 29
Holmes Student Center 305

Dr. McCord has served as associate dean for graduate affairs of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences at Cincinnati University since 2003.

Prior to that he spent two years as the interim head of the Department of Economics at the college, and chaired the Taft Faculty Executive Board from 1998 to 2003. He earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1986.

His research interests include dynamical systems, algebraic topology and celestial mechanics.

He has been the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships and, in 1998, was selected to receive the Taft Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award.

3-15-07