Biology chair to be determined
Search committee cuts applicant list
Stephen Di Benedetto / Staff Reporter
Issue date: 1/30/09 Section: News
The search committee for a new biology chair has narrowed the list to four candidates.
Diane Hoadley, chair of the committee and dean of Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences, said the committee slimmed the list from 26 original applicants.
The four candidates are Charles Amlaner from Indiana State University; Bruce Schulte from Georgia Southern University; Stephen Roberts from University of Nevada at Las Vegas; and Gregory Spicer from San Francisco State University.
"I thought the pool was fine," Hoadley said of the applicants. "I thought the quality of people who rose to the top of the pool was very good, very strong."
Hoadley said she hoped to make a recommendation to Mary Anne Hanner, dean of the College of Sciences, either by the end of this week or early next week.
All finalists have completed their on-campus interview. Spicer, the last interviewee, finished Jan. 23.
Hoadley said all finalists have experience with administrative work.
Amlaner served as chair of the ecology and organismal biology department at Indiana State. Roberts was associate director of life sciences for a year. Spicer is the faculty director of the conservation genetics lab at San Francisco State. Schulte is the director of his college's undergraduate research at Georgia Southern.
"Each gentleman had a different set of experiences that they brought," Hoadley said.
The search committee was formed after former biology chair Andy Methven announced in February 2008 he would resign.
Methven intended to continue as chair until June 30, but opted to participate in a research project this semester. Methven ceased his duties as biology chair on Dec. 31. Hanner appointed Godson Obia, associate dean of the College of Sciences, to be interim biology chair until June 30.
The new chair will most likely start his duties on July 1.
Hoadley said the committee weighed a variety of factors to narrow the 26 applicants to four. The committee examined the background of the individual and the area he or she specializes in the biological sciences field, Hoadley said.
After the list was cut, the committee analyzed how the final applicants interacted with faculty and administrators during their on-campus interviews, she said.
"The committee has been a very highly functioning group," Hoadley said. "They worked very well together. They were very cooperative."
Along with Hoadley, five biology faculty members comprised the committee. Jeff Laursen, Janice Coons, Karen Gaines, Kip McGilliard and Gordon Tucker analyzed and discussed the 26 applicants.
"Each person brought his or her opinion to the table," Hoadley said. "There was a lot of very good conversation. I think all viewpoints were heard."
Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or at sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.
Diane Hoadley, chair of the committee and dean of Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences, said the committee slimmed the list from 26 original applicants.
The four candidates are Charles Amlaner from Indiana State University; Bruce Schulte from Georgia Southern University; Stephen Roberts from University of Nevada at Las Vegas; and Gregory Spicer from San Francisco State University.
"I thought the pool was fine," Hoadley said of the applicants. "I thought the quality of people who rose to the top of the pool was very good, very strong."
Hoadley said she hoped to make a recommendation to Mary Anne Hanner, dean of the College of Sciences, either by the end of this week or early next week.
All finalists have completed their on-campus interview. Spicer, the last interviewee, finished Jan. 23.
Hoadley said all finalists have experience with administrative work.
Amlaner served as chair of the ecology and organismal biology department at Indiana State. Roberts was associate director of life sciences for a year. Spicer is the faculty director of the conservation genetics lab at San Francisco State. Schulte is the director of his college's undergraduate research at Georgia Southern.
"Each gentleman had a different set of experiences that they brought," Hoadley said.
The search committee was formed after former biology chair Andy Methven announced in February 2008 he would resign.
Methven intended to continue as chair until June 30, but opted to participate in a research project this semester. Methven ceased his duties as biology chair on Dec. 31. Hanner appointed Godson Obia, associate dean of the College of Sciences, to be interim biology chair until June 30.
The new chair will most likely start his duties on July 1.
Hoadley said the committee weighed a variety of factors to narrow the 26 applicants to four. The committee examined the background of the individual and the area he or she specializes in the biological sciences field, Hoadley said.
After the list was cut, the committee analyzed how the final applicants interacted with faculty and administrators during their on-campus interviews, she said.
"The committee has been a very highly functioning group," Hoadley said. "They worked very well together. They were very cooperative."
Along with Hoadley, five biology faculty members comprised the committee. Jeff Laursen, Janice Coons, Karen Gaines, Kip McGilliard and Gordon Tucker analyzed and discussed the 26 applicants.
"Each person brought his or her opinion to the table," Hoadley said. "There was a lot of very good conversation. I think all viewpoints were heard."
Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or at sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Richard Altamont
posted 1/30/09 @ 6:50 AM CST
What this article mistakenly reports is that there ARE four candidates; there WERE four candidates. Three declined before an offer was even made.
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