Wheels turn in search for associate deans of College of Medicine


The search for associate deans for the College of Medicine is progressing.

Incoming dean Ernest Yoder will participate in the hiring process, but it will take some time, said Darby Gwisdala, special assistant to the provost. She could not comment on when the hiring would happen.

“The wheels of justice grind slowly,” she said.

Steve Smith, director of public relations, said Yoder has been unavailable because he is traveling abroad.

Yoder was named founding dean March 16. Interim College of Medicine Dean Cam Enarson declined the position in January for personal reasons.

CMU continued searches for the associate dean positions before Yoder was officially named dean of the college.

In a previous interview, Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe, chairman of the search committee for the associate dean of Student Affairs, said the associate dean searches could not stop because most of the committees had already chosen candidates to come to campus.

Roscoe said he is in the final steps of submitting the recommendations of his committee’s search to Interim Provost Gary Shapiro.

The candidates Associate Dean of Student Affairs: Robert Satonik, Stephen Peterson, and Mala R. Chinoy. Associate Dean of Administration and Finance: John Cookinham, Lawrence Mathews, and Deborah Biggs. Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and Hospital Relations: Carl Sirio, Richard Pomerantz and John Chessare. Associate Dean of Medical Education and Faculty Development: Undetermined.
“My understanding is once the provost receives the information we submit, then he will meet with the new dean (Yoder),” Roscoe said. “I believe the two will hold discussions before an associate dean is named.”

Moving along Barrie Wilkes, associate vice president of Financial Services and Reporting and chairman of the search committee for the associate dean for Administration and Finance, said three candidates were on campus the first week in March.

“They all went through the on-campus interviews and procedures already,” Wilkes said. “We, being the screening committee, have made our suggestions to the provost.”

After speaking with Shapiro this week, Wilkes is not sure when Yoder will contact the candidates for associate dean, but said he thinks phone interviews could happen next week.

Tom Masterson, chairman of the search committee for the medical school associate dean of medical education and faculty development, said his committee is in the process of inviting candidates to campus.

“We anticipate on bringing three candidates to campus,” said Masterson, the associate dean for the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions. “It will probably be next week when we can start scheduling on-campus interviews.”

Ray Christie, chairman of the search committee for the associate dean of Clinical Affairs and Hospital Relations, said his committee will meet soon to discuss the three candidates who came to campus last week.

This dean will be responsible for the third- and fourth-year relationships with many of the clinical affiliates, he said.

“I think we had very strong candidates on campus,” said Christie, vice provost of Academic Administration. “The committee will meet and put together a report on the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses and turn it over to the provost.”

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