Columns:: Looking for the perfect match

since 12/15/98

Columns::February 10, 2003

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Campus News

Looking for the perfect match

By Sharron Hannon
shannon@uga.edu

Art Dunning, vice president for public service and outreach, chairs the search committee working to identify candidates for the

Art Dunning

position of associate provost for institutional diversity. Recently he discussed how that search is progressing.

Columns: The search committee was named in October. What’s been happening since then?

Dunning: The committee thought it was important to get a clear understanding of the issues, concerns and opinions regarding this position from a number of groups on campus. We decided it would be helpful to have “listening sessions” and asked each group to send their president or chair and one other representative to meet with us. Our request to them was to help us with shaping this position.
So we spent last semester conducting several of these sessions and we also met with the deans as a group. These were good discussions, and the committee was impressed with the seriousness with which everyone approached this and the thoughtful comments we heard. We used that input in crafting the position description.

Columns: What were some of the dominant themes?

Dunning: There were a couple of them. First, people want someone in this position who can work with the schools and colleges, not just the central administration. It was felt that it’s crucial for the schools and colleges to be involved. Then there was a programmatic thrust. People want the Office of Institutional Diversity to develop responses to diversity issues. So administrative skills were deemed very important for this leadership position.
We also had conversations about the broad definition of diversity--about how, when viewed from the historical perspective, it’s tied to race, but in looking at current and future realities, it’s also tied to gender and ethnicity. The person in this position needs to be able to bridge the gap between the past and the future.
Additionally, the person needs to understand what’s unique about Georgia and this region. We’re not Montana. But diversity also extends to international issues.

Columns: Now that the description has been worked out, what’s next?

Dunning: The next step is to get information about the position out to a number of sectors. We’re advertising in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Black Issues in Higher Education and a number of other publications related to the issue of diversity in higher education. We may also ask for support from a search firm to help identify leaders who are managing diversity programs at Research I universities. We think this kind of background is critically important because of the layers of complexity to this job--first, the complexity of research universities in general, and then the complexity of issues surrounding diversity. We need someone with a grasp of what it takes to lead and manage an office of institutional diversity in this kind of setting.

Columns: What’s the time frame for responses to the ads?

Dunning: We’ve said that applications received by March 7 are assured full consideration--but we won’t put a deadline on submitting applications. We’ll keep the search open while we start reviewing candidates. We’ll review the applicant pool and reduce it to 8-10 people at the most and invite them to Georgia for interviews. Most likely, we’ll meet them near the airport. We’ll look at their experiences and background and do reference checks. We expect to be able to submit the names of 3-5 unranked candidates to the provost and president before the end of this semester.

Columns: With the provost search also under way, does that present a complication?

Dunning: I expect the candidates for the associate provost position will want to know who the provost is going to be--or at least who the finalists are--since that’s who they’ll report to. So this search will probably lag that one somewhat.

Columns: There are a lot of high expectations of the person who takes on leadership of the diversity office. Is one person going to be able to satisfy all of those?

Dunning: One issue that’s been raised is that diversity ought to be a concern of all units. The person in this position should provide leadership, but the true test of success is how diversity is integrated throughout the institution. The diversity office won’t be successful without campus-wide support and effort.
The search committee will work very hard to find someone who has dealt with student, faculty and staff issues. We need someone who can handle multiple responsibilities and sectors. There’s probably not a lot of people out there with that breadth of experience, so we’re going to have to be aggressive in our search. We need to find stellar performers, with strong academic credentials and management and leadership skills. They need to know about budgets and how to develop programs and implement initiatives.

Columns: Clearly there are strong feelings about the importance of this position--and the Office of Institutional Diversity--to the future of UGA.

Dunning: Diversity is tied to the state of Georgia’s economic and social wellbeing. Demographic realities make it essential to deal with this. If we want UGA to be a key asset of the state, we must educate and develop the leaders of the future. We also have to be aware of our history and realize that exclusionary practices have implications over generations. People excluded by statute, policy or custom develop long memories. You then have to work extremely hard to develop a level of trust and credibility regarding your seriousness to change. That’s true whether we’re talking about Tel Aviv or Tifton. We need to understand those consequences and do the best job possible to give people every opportunity to participate in the life of this university, whether as student, faculty or staff.

Columns: This is certainly a challenging search to chair.

Dunning: I’ve found it very interesting, both professionally and personally. Of course these are issues I’ve observed and dealt with throughout my lifetime. I know that decisions and actions that aren’t handled well have consequences for a very long time. But UGA has the ingredients right now to provide national leadership on diversity issues. We can have some very positive national visibility if we approach this constructively and with a serious commitment.

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