Dixie State University “seeks a dynamic and visionary leader” for the position of dean of the college of humanities and social sciences.
Dean of Education Brenda Sabey is chairing the search committee, and while she said the search process itself is confidential, she did provide a link to the job listing, which listed responsibilities such as “strategic planning, enrollment and budget management, and overseeing curriculum, facilities, and academic personnel.” Qualification requirements include a doctorate in a discipline eligible for tenure within the college of humanities and social sciences, current rank of associate or full professor and academic administrative experience.
Interim Dean Cheri Crenshaw said being interim dean has been a terrific experience for her.
“Our college is full of excellent chairs and faculty who I love working with,” Crenshaw said. “When I’m able to help them get something accomplished that they really needed my help on — although most of the time, they are perfectly capable of getting things done on their own — I feel a strong sense of accomplishment. I also gained insight into our administrators, such as the provost [Michael Lacourse], who is truly dedicated to making the university strong and vital.”
Prior to becoming the interim dean, Crenshaw was the English department chair and taught several classes within the department.
“Luckily, Mike Peterson was willing to step in as the [English] department chair and he’s doing a terrific job,” Crenshaw said. “Other English faculty stepped up to take on the three classes I was teaching. They were all very supportive of my doing this, and I couldn’t have managed it without them also taking on more work. The English faculty are total rock stars.”
English professor Susan Ertel was one of the professors who took over Crenshaw’s classes, specifically her upper division editing course. She said while it was difficult to adjust to a course created by someone else, it was a great learning opportunity to see how other professors structure their assignments. Crenshaw had previously created video lectures to supplement the course, and Ertel said it was like having a guest speaker co-teaching the course with her.
Ertel said: “Dr. Crenshaw has been a fantastic interim dean. Her laughter is sure missed around the halls of the English department, but every day we see the ship being steered smoothly and expertly by her as the interim dean.”
The goal is to complete the search for the new dean by April 2019.
