By Max Loos

The finalists in the search for the new Institute for Global Citizenship dean were on campus over the past several weeks, giving talks about the role of global citizenship in the liberal arts and facing questions from students and faculty about how they see the future of the IGC. The four candidates – Mac Geography professor and chair William Moseley, University of Redlands Latin American Studies professor and director Daniel Klooster, Colorado College Dean of Summer Programs and Sociology professor Eric Popkin, and Albion College Director of Ethnic Studies and professor of Sociology ‘Dimeji Togunde – each held a public lecture and a public discussion with students.

Eva Beal ’11 has attended all of the public student-discussions, in which candidates have faced questions from students about their administrative experience, what types of new programs they would create, and how they navigate the class dynamics of the idea of global citizenship.

“They’re never boring hours of my life,” Beal said. “We really put them on the spot.”

“It’s also a chance to look deeper into the candidate’s vision,” Vera Sidlova ’11, one of the student representatives on the IGC dean search committee, said.

“The discussion is where you really get to ask challenging questions and see how the person would respond,” she said. “Like, what if I had an idea for a project? Would this person be open to that?”

She also noted that the open discussions are just as useful for the candidates as they are for the students.

“It’s more of a two-way street, the candidate learns a lot about campus by the way students ask questions and the kinds of things they say,” she said.

Students also were invited to fill out feedback sheets, which will be taken into consideration by the search committee as it looks to pick a top candidate.

“It’s particularly important to have student feedback, because ultimately the Institute is for students, it caters to a certain type of student experience, it’s supposed to be a part of our education here,” Sidlova said.

Beal was surprised that the majority of the students who attended the open discussions were seniors, who will be graduating before the new dean takes the position. Beal, though, felt it was important to participate in Macalester’s future, even if she wouldn’t necessarily be there to experience it.

“Mac is my community,” she said. “I hope in the future the IGC can be more accessible.”

Candidates also gave public lectures on the same topic, “Global Citizenship and the Liberal Arts,” in which they briefly covered their views on the subject of global citizenship while also discussing what their priorities would be as dean of the IGC.

Now that the candidates have all visited Macalester, the search committee will make a recommendation on which candidate to hire as the new dean of the IGC. That recommendation will go to Provost Kathleen Murray, who will ultimately select who will be the get the position as dean of IGC. “They’re never boring hours of my life,” Beal said. “We really put them on the spot.”

“It’s also a chance to look deeper into the candidate’s vision,” Vera Sidlova ’11, one of the student representatives on the IGC dean search committee, said.

“The discussion is where you really get to ask challenging questions and see how the person would respond,” she said. “Like, what if I had an idea for a project? Would this person be open to that?”

She also noted that the open discussions are just as useful for the candidates as they are for the students.

“It’s more of a two-way street, the candidate learns a lot about campus by the way students ask questions and the kinds of things they say,” she said.

Students also were invited to fill out feedback sheets, which will be taken into consideration by the search committee as it looks to pick a top candidate.

“It’s particularly important to have student feedback, because ultimately the Institute is for students, it caters to a certain type of student experience, it’s supposed to be a part of our education here,” Sidlova said.

Beal was surprised that the majority of the students who attended the open discussions were seniors, who will be graduating before the new dean takes the position. Beal, though, felt it was important to participate in Macalester’s future, even if she wouldn’t necessarily be there to experience it.

“Mac is my community,” she said. “I hope in the future the IGC can be more accessible.”

Candidates also gave public lectures on the same topic, “Global Citizenship and the Liberal Arts,” in which they briefly covered their views on the subject of global citizenship while also discussing what their priorities would be as dean of the IGC.

Now that the candidates have all visited Macalester, the search committee will make a recommendation on which candidate to hire as the new dean of the IGC. That recommendation will go to Provost Kathleen Murray, who will ultimately select who will be the get the position as dean of the IGC.