Mala Chinoy, the last of three candidates to hold a forum for an associate dean position, spoke at Central Michigan University on Monday.

Among her top concerns was the lack of clarification with how the College of Medicine will coexist with others on campus.

“Overall vision has to be very clear as to how it is going to be implemented and who is going to do what,” said Chinoy, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and professor of pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa. “The big picture is not yet communicated. Other faculty have to be informed.”

She said the university lacks a vision for the College of Medicine because a dean is not yet in place — a position Interim Dean Cam Enarson turned down last month for personal reasons.

Discussion at Chinoy’s forum included topics such as incentives future medical students would have to stay in northern Michigan, residency programs and scholarships. But Chinoy did not want to get into specifics.

“It depends on what the university wants and what the College of Medicine wants,” she said. “I do have thoughts, but all of these need to be communicated by the dean first.”

Robert Satonik, associate director of residency at Synergy Medical Education Alliance in Saginaw and temporary faculty for the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions, and Stephen Peterson, associate professor of Community Health and assistant dean of student affairs for the medical school at Wright State University, also held forums over the last two weeks.

Unified working

Peterson said for the new College of Medicine to succeed, all programs must work for a common goal.

“We all need to succeed together,” he said at a forum Feb. 16.

Peterson said one focus is attracting students to the school from more ignored, rural areas. He said the College of Medicine can do this by giving more “points” to these students in the application process.

“If you have two equally qualified applicants, one from an under-served area and one from an area that has many doctors, we should probably admit the (applicant from the under-served area),” Peterson said.

First of the forums

Satonik said he sees the position of associate dean of student affairs as a good fit for him.

He answered questions from a group of 14 people during the first open forum on Feb. 10.

During the forum, Satonik explained why he choose the student affairs position to apply for over the other dean positions.

“In my brain, I saw student affairs as my ideal place,” Satonik said, “I want to help mold students and bring them forward.”

Satonik said he is not uncomfortable going through the process without knowing who the founding dean of the college will be.

“When Dr. Enarson declined, I was in a little bit of a quandary,” Satonik said. “I am already knee-deep in this process. What does this mean for me?”

Chinoy said one of her key concerns is the lack of a founding dean to give the College direction.

“Overall vision has to be very clear as to how it’s going to be implemented and who is going to do what,” Chinoy said. “It depends on what the university wants and what the College of Medicine wants.”

If chosen for the position, Chinoy would work with education, recruitment, retention and outreach for CMU’s College of Medicine. She emphasized her organizational skills, vision and team leadership mentality as valuable assets.

“We all need to succeed together,” he said.

Peterson interviewed at the second of three forums for associate dean of student affairs at Central Michigan University’s proposed medical school. He is currently the associate professor of Community Health and assistant dean of student affairs for the Medical School at Wright State University.

There he works with students on a variety of topics including admissions, financial aid, scheduling, student advising, and applications, many of the duties one would take on in the student affairs role at CMU.

Peterson said he would not accept the associate dean job until the dean of the medical school position was filled.

“I would have to feel confident that the dean could work with me,” Peterson said.

One point that came up during the forum was admissions. The associate dean of student affairs position would sit on the admissions board and Peterson said one focus is getting students in the school from more ignored, rural areas. He said the CMU medical school can do this by giving more “points” to these students in the application process.

“If you have two equally qualified applicants, one from a under-served area and one from an area that has many doctors, we should probably admit the (applicant from the under-served area),” said Peterson.

Six people attended the open forum Tuesday, which was held in the Lake Huron room at the Bovee University Center.

“His current position prepares him very well for this position,” said Bruce Roscoe, Dean of Students and chairman of the associate dean of student affairs for the medical school search committee.

Six people attended the forum including Kirk Yats, associate director of Scholarships and Financial Aid and member of the search committee, who said he was impressed with Peterson’s background in financial aid and his knowledge of the inner-workings of a medical school.

“He certainly has a lot of experience in student affair issues,” Yats said.

Dr. Robert Satonik, associate director of residency at Synergy Medical Education Alliance in Saginaw, will be the first of three finalists to interview. His forum runs from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. today in the Bovee University Center Lake Huron Room.

The other finalists are Stephen Peterson, an associate professor of Community Health and assistant dean for student affairs and admissions at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and Mala R. Chinoy, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and professor of pediatrics, at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa.

Peterson’s forum takes place at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the UC’s Lake Huron Room, and Chinoy’s takes place at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 22 in the UC’s Terrace Room C.

Bruce Roscoe, dean of students and chairman of the search committee for the medical school associate dean of student affairs, said the forums are open to the public and he hopes people come ready to both ask questions and answer some too.

“I hope it’s a give and take. Hopefully he has an opportunity to pose some questions as well,” Roscoe said.

Satonik also serves as an adjunct faculty member in CMU’s physician assistant program. He earned his medical degree from the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine.

Waiting for hire?

The forums will take place despite no medical school dean in place.

That position was offered to interim dean Cam Enarson, who declined because of family reasons in mid-January.

Roscoe said the reason the forums are starting before a dean is found is because the finalists for the associate dean of student affairs are decided.

“I can’t speak for others, but ours was so far under way,” he said of the search. “We had already identified the top people and extended invites.”

He said interim Provost Gary Shapiro will decide on a hire following the forums. Roscoe said even if a finalist is decided, they may wait until a dean of the school is found to hire the finalist for associate dean.

Tom Masterson, associate dean for the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions and chairman of the search committee for the medical school associate dean of medical education and faculty development, said his search is in the ending process of phone interviews.

He said the search is moving forward full-force.

“We haven’t slowed down a bit (since Enarson declined the dean position),” Masterson said.

It was previously reported the four associate dean positions for the medical school would not be filled until a founding dean was named.

“I suspect the top candidate wants to talk to who would be their boss,” Roscoe said. “(I’m) sensing they want to wait to meet with the dean before committing themselves.”

Dr. Robert Satonik, associate director of residency at Synergy Medical Education Alliance in Saginaw, will start the forums from 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Wednesday in the Bovee University Center Lake Huron Room. He will be the first of three different finalists coming in the next three weeks.

The other finalists are: Stephen Peterson, an associate professor of Community Health and
aassistant dean for student Affairs and admissions at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and Mala R. Chinoy, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and professor of pediatrics, Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa.

Peterson’s forum will take place at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 16 in the UC’s Lake Huron Room, and Chinoy’s will take place at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 22 in the UC’s Terrace Room C.

Bruce Roscoe, dean of students and chairman of the search committee for the medical school associate dean of student affairs, said the forum will be open to the public and he said he hopes people come ready to both ask questions and answer some too.

“I hope it’s a give and take. Hopefully he has an opportunity to pose some questions as well,” Roscoe said.

The dean of the medical school hasn’t been decided yet, though it was offered to current Interim Medical School Dean Cam Enarson. Enarson declined the position because of family reasons in mid-January.

Roscoe said the reason the forums are already starting for the position before a dean of the school has been found is because the finalists for the associate dean of student affairs decided.

“I can’t speak for others, but ours was so far underway,” he said. “We had already identified the top people and extended invites.”

He said after the forums are over it will be up to Interim Provost Gary Shapiro to decide who will be hired but said even if a finalist is decided they may wait until a dean of the school is found to hire them.

“I suspect the top candidate wants to talk to who would be there boss,” Roscoe said. “(I’m) sensing they want to wait to meet with the dean before committing themselves.”

Check cm-life.com for more updates.