Spring Break
Biology department chair search still on hold
Final candidate turns down Eastern's offer
Stephen Di Benedetto / Staff Reporter
Issue date: 2/25/09 Section: News
The search for a new biology chair will have to start from scratch after Gregory Spicer, the final candidate for the position, declined an offer.
Spicer, faculty director of the conservation genetics lab at San Francisco State University, declined the offer because the housing market around his San Francisco home was devalued, according to a Feb. 17 e-mail sent to faculty members in the department.
Because of the market, Spicer would not be able to resell his home at the original price.
Mary Anne Hanner, dean of the College of Sciences, said she is currently evaluating the future of the search. She hopes to meet with the biology department after spring break.
Godson Obia, interim biology chair and associate dean of the College of Sciences, was slated to stay as interim until July 1.
Hanner said she does not know if Obia will continue as interim longer than July 1.
Spicer was the fourth and final candidate for biology chair. Candidates Bruce Schulte and Stephen Roberts withdrew from the open position before winter break.
Charles Amlaner, the other candidate, e-mailed Hanner during winter break, saying he was pursuing a position at another university.
Hanner said the original applicant pool would not be revisited. According to the Feb. 17 e-mail, the search for a chair will start again, but a timeline for when the search would start has not been determined. Diane Hoadley, chair of the search committee, did not respond to inquiries. Janice Coons, a biology professor who served on the search committee, said she does not know if a new committee will be formed for the future search.
She added each candidate had different reasons for turning down the position.
"It's discouraging because of the amount of time and effort we put into it," Coons said of all finalists turning down the position.
She said some of the candidates came from large research universities. Eastern does not have as many research opportunities or resources, Coons added.
Coons said the conflicts that divided the department a year ago were not a factor in the candidates' decisions not to accept the offer.
Before announcing his resignation as chair in February 2008, Andy Methven, former biology chair, was faced with the threat of a vote of no confidence — the initial step to remove a chairperson.
During the spring 2008 semester, many disagreements within the department existed about the use of graduate assistants teaching class.
Coons said she believes past conflicts did not influence the candidates' decisions to decline the chair position because the department is currently operating in a positive environment.
"I don't think that is true," she said.
The original search, which lasted throughout the fall semester, yielded 26 applicants. Hanner said, because of travel plans, she will not be able to meet with department until after spring break. She added she hopes to initiate plans concerning the uncertain future of the department as quickly as possible.
Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or at sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.
Spicer, faculty director of the conservation genetics lab at San Francisco State University, declined the offer because the housing market around his San Francisco home was devalued, according to a Feb. 17 e-mail sent to faculty members in the department.
Because of the market, Spicer would not be able to resell his home at the original price.
Mary Anne Hanner, dean of the College of Sciences, said she is currently evaluating the future of the search. She hopes to meet with the biology department after spring break.
Godson Obia, interim biology chair and associate dean of the College of Sciences, was slated to stay as interim until July 1.
Hanner said she does not know if Obia will continue as interim longer than July 1.
Spicer was the fourth and final candidate for biology chair. Candidates Bruce Schulte and Stephen Roberts withdrew from the open position before winter break.
Charles Amlaner, the other candidate, e-mailed Hanner during winter break, saying he was pursuing a position at another university.
Hanner said the original applicant pool would not be revisited. According to the Feb. 17 e-mail, the search for a chair will start again, but a timeline for when the search would start has not been determined. Diane Hoadley, chair of the search committee, did not respond to inquiries. Janice Coons, a biology professor who served on the search committee, said she does not know if a new committee will be formed for the future search.
She added each candidate had different reasons for turning down the position.
"It's discouraging because of the amount of time and effort we put into it," Coons said of all finalists turning down the position.
She said some of the candidates came from large research universities. Eastern does not have as many research opportunities or resources, Coons added.
Coons said the conflicts that divided the department a year ago were not a factor in the candidates' decisions not to accept the offer.
Before announcing his resignation as chair in February 2008, Andy Methven, former biology chair, was faced with the threat of a vote of no confidence — the initial step to remove a chairperson.
During the spring 2008 semester, many disagreements within the department existed about the use of graduate assistants teaching class.
Coons said she believes past conflicts did not influence the candidates' decisions to decline the chair position because the department is currently operating in a positive environment.
"I don't think that is true," she said.
The original search, which lasted throughout the fall semester, yielded 26 applicants. Hanner said, because of travel plans, she will not be able to meet with department until after spring break. She added she hopes to initiate plans concerning the uncertain future of the department as quickly as possible.
Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or at sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.
The Daily Eastern News encourages on-topic, civil discussion on its articles posted online. It is our policy not to screen comments before they are posted or edit them after they are posted. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are off-topic, malicious, libelous or include excessive foul language. The DEN also reserves the right to turn off all comments on any story it deems necessary.
Comments violating copyright law will also be removed.
Users who repeatedly violate this policy will be banned from commenting.
If you have any questions on our comment policy or wish to report a comment that you feel violates these standards, please e-mail a link to the article to our Online Editor at DENNews.com@gmail.com.
Be the first to comment on this story