Spring Break
Lynch named as interim dean
Krystal Moya/Administration Editor
Issue date: 4/10/09 Section: News
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Jeffrey Lynch was hired Thursday to take over for Dean James Johnson when he retires.
Lynch was also set to retire in December but postponed his retirement for the position.
Lynch has served as the associate dean since 1996.
"Jeff was the natural choice when we were made aware that Dean Johnson was to retire," said Blair Lord, provost and vice president for academic affairs. "We just had to find out if he was available and he was."
Lynch was chosen for the interim because of both natural progression, "like a vice president fills in for a president," and because he has worked closely with Johnson and will continue "the goals of the college," Lord said.
He believes Lynch does not fit the traditional stereotype of an interim position holder.
"Lynch isn't someone who will just keep the chair warm and keep the papers moving," Lord said. "His role will be to continue to provide leadership. He is fully versed in the all the challenges and will function just as Johnson did.
"His being an interim doesn't restrict him from making decisions that are mission critical."
Lynch said he put his retirement on hold "for the good of the order."
He said he was asked by Lord to postpone to "insure the continuity in the dean's office." In taking the position, Lynch oversees both the college and the Doudna Fine Arts Center.
Lord's decision to hire an interim dean came after candidates selected from a national search were passed up for the permanent position.
"I didn't believe we had found the right candidate for the dean position as a result of this search," Lord said.
He declined to comment on what qualities were missing from the five candidates interviewed in February.
Lynch said he was "disappointed that the search did not end with the naming of a new dean."
"I had visions of myself on a beach in Jamaica in January, not shoveling my driveway in Charleston," he said.
Lynch said his wife and children are also affected by his decision to stay.
However, Lynch believed the good of the college was at stake and the "beach will still be there."
The five finalists earlier this semester were Dana Ringuette, chair of the English department at Eastern; Arved Larsen, professor of music and previously associate dean of fine arts at Illinois State University; John Omachonu, the associate dean of the College of Mass Communications at Middle Tennessee State University, in Murfreesboro, Tenn.; and Richard Sax, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio.
All of the candidates can reapply for the position in August, when the search committee resumes its quest for a new dean.
"In the beginning of the fall semester, the search committee for the dean will begin their hard work, placing ads and making all the phone calls," Lord said. "I look forward to filling the position the next year."
Krystal Moya can be reached at 581-7942 or at ksmoya@eiu.edu.
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