By Christianna Lewis

The search committee for the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences will propose a final candidate in March for the highest administrative position in the college.

The committee is accepting applications through Dec. 31, said Adam Hester Jr., search committee chair and chair of the Department of Theatre.

“We will have a short list to bring to the college to interview in a variety of settings in February,” Hester said.

The “short list” of selected applicants will make presentations to CAS faculty and students, and the committee will use feedback from these introductions to narrow the list further. The final choice will be submitted to the chief academic officer for approval.

The committee aims to make a final recommendation to the provost, former CAS dean Dr. Jeanine Varner, the week before spring break.

ACU is advertising the position on its Web site and in the Christian Chronicle. According to the advertisement, the dean will be “the chief academic, fiscal and administrative officer of the college.”

The dean’s responsibilities include recruiting and evaluating staff and faculty, managing the budget, planning curriculum and encouraging excellence in teaching and research.

Qualifications, the ad says, include a doctoral degree, experience as a professor and a history of strong leadership and collaboration. Applicants also must be members of the Church of Christ and committed to Christian higher education.

Along with the usual bumps and blunders that come with a new position, the dean will face a campuswide transition to a new core curriculum, said Dr. Jeffrey Haseltine, associate CAS dean.

“Implementation of the general education core curriculum, beginning in Fall 2010, will be a huge undertaking for the university, and the CAS dean will play a key role,” Haseltine said. “The new dean must be able to inspire our current faculty to bring their best creative energy to the task.”

Dr. Gregory Straughn, the interim dean of the CAS, said it is ACU’s largest and most diverse college, which could pose a challenge to the future dean.

“The size of the college means that the dean must be able to converse on and represent a vast expanse of majors,” Straughn said. “While there is no way for one person to master each of these disciplines, it is important to accurately represent their scope and activities to prospective students, as well as members of the trustees.”