Macalester recently completed a search to hire a Dean for Faculty Diversity and Development. After the search’s conclusion, the college decided to not hire any of the candidates it interviewed for the position. The college will reopen the search in the fall, and the dean’s position will remain vacant until then.

The search began after Jane Rhodes, former Dean for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, left Macalester last fall to take a position at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Rhodes held her position at Macalester for nine years.

After Rhodes left, Provost Kathy Murray convened a group to explore the structure of that position and whether it should change going forward. The end result was a retooled position now known as the Dean for Faculty Diversity and Development. This new position has a stronger focus on faculty development and “enhancing diversity within the faculty and across the curriculum,” according to the position description.

According to Murray, this new position had “much more explicit expectations that the person would work with the Dean of Multicultural Life, the Dean of the Institute for Global Citizenship and the Center for Scholarship and Teaching.” This collaboration would allow the dean to collaborate on many initiatives all across campus.

The position description also calls for the candidate to support new faculty of color through development and retention programs, help search committees develop affirmative action protocols, and focus on classroom diversity and inclusivity.

In addition, the new dean will likely teach as well. Rhodes was also chair and a professor in American studies while here, but according to Murray, the new dean could “sit in any department.”

Macalester brought two finalists to campus in late March for presentations and question-and-answer sessions. In the fall, the search committee will reopen its search for the position, yet according to Murray, it will likely use a search consultant as well. Incoming Provost Karine Moe will take over Murray’s role after she departs Macalester at the end of the year.