Formation of the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Dean Search Advisory Committee
From Dr. Gloria Waters, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
This past spring, Dr. Karen Antman, who has served as dean of the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine (Chobanian & Avedisian) and provost of the Boston University Medical Campus since 2005, announced she would be retiring in 2025 pending the appointment of a new dean. It is now time to begin a national search to identify a permanent dean for the school.
The process for constituting a dean search advisory committee, outlined in the BU Faculty Handbook, specifies that: “the advisory committee shall consist of three faculty members elected by the faculty of the school for which a dean is to be selected, two faculty members elected by the Faculty Council from other schools, and as many as three members designated by the provost.”
The faculty members who are appointed to serve on the advisory committee will have responsibility for directing the search effort and should be among our most thoughtful, engaged, and committed scholars, teachers, and leaders. The faculty most well-positioned to carry out this work will be actively engaged in significant ways in their professional communities and within their academic disciplines and should demonstrate the capacity to proactively attract and recruit outstanding candidates for the Chobanian & Avedisian deanship. They also should be willing to coordinate with faculty not on the committee who have colleagues and networks likely to yield excellent candidates. Please note that no member of the advisory committee may be considered for the position of dean.
I am requesting that the faculty in the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine organize internally to solicit nominations and to elect three faculty representatives to the search advisory committee. Any individual who would have a role in overseeing the election within Chobanian & Avedisian should neither wish to serve on the dean search advisory committee nor want to be a candidate for the dean’s position. I have asked Heather Edwards, associate professor of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery and a member of the Faculty Council, to organize the election to identify the Chobanian & Avedisian representatives. I will meet with the Chobanian & Avedisian faculty on December 9 to discuss the search effort as the election process gets under way.
Boston University’s Faculty Council will also send an email communication to all members of the faculty on the Charles River and Medical Campuses requesting nominations of candidates external to the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine to fill the two elected seats on the dean search advisory committee. Nominations or expressions of interest can be sent to the Faculty Council (fafc@bu.edu). Please note that membership on the Faculty Council itself is not an eligibility requirement for election to the search advisory committee by the Faculty Council. I request submission of the results of both of these elections no later than December 20. Following receipt, I will appoint additional members so that the committee will be assembled and prepared to begin its work immediately.
The Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Dean Search Advisory Committee will be charged with responsibility for:
- Proposing refinements to the initial position description;
- Actively soliciting nominations for candidates from appropriate sources within the University and nationally;
- Actively recruiting outstanding candidates who have a record of administrative leadership and achievement and an academic profile suitable for appointment at the level of professor at Boston University;
- Evaluating the qualifications and assessing the strength of nominees and applicants;
- Consulting with the faculty of Chobanian & Avedisian and other college and University stakeholders on finalists; and
- Recommending the names of 3-5 qualified candidates to me, outlining the strengths and limitations of each, for final selection by the president and me, with approval by the Board of Trustees.
The members of the Chobanian & Avedisian Dean Search Advisory Committee should not vote as part of its process and deliberations. Rather, the work should be accomplished by discussion and consensus. Ideally, the committee will conclude its work and submit its recommendations no later than April 1, 2025.
The formal appointment of the dean search advisory committee for Chobanian & Avedisian is forthcoming, and I appreciate your contributions to and support of the search effort.
In closing, I want to offer our profound thanks to Karen Antman for two decades of transformative leadership on the BU Medical Campus and for her ongoing service as we work to appoint a successor to this critical role.
Formation of the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Dean Search Advisory Committee – 11.26.24