The search for a new SIUC Law School dean is finally in motion after a standstill summer.

Patrick J. Kelley, law professor and chairman of the School of Law Dean Search Committee, said general approval for a national search was made on August 1 by SIUC President John Guyon and provost Benjamin Shepherd.

Kelley said final authorization was granted by the affirmative action office August 8. He said the affirmative action office approves protocol for every search.

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Guyon said SIUC has followed affirmative action guidelines for over 30 years.

In a memo to Guyon, Kelley described the law dean position, the qualifications needed for the job and the selection process to be used for the search.

The duties of the new law dean are to provide academic leadership, devise and supervise implementation of the Law School goals and serve as chief administrative officer of the Law School.

Some of the qualifications and competencies required for applicants are:they must be a full professor with tenure in the Law School, show commitment to academic values, commitment to providing quality legal education and they must have demonstrated academic administrative ability.

The first step in the law dean selection process is identifying a pool of potential candidates.

Kelley said the committee will start by announcing the available position which includes sending letters out to all the law deans and interested organizations such as the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.

Kelley also said the committee will be calling the individuals who are recommended to them. He said anyone can make a recommendation.

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The next step is screening the applicants. The Dean Search Committee will then select those who will be invited to informal screening discussions.

After the informal screenings are complete the committee will compile a list of not more than nine but not less than three applicants, Kelley wrote.

Each faculty member and student representative to the faculty will review the applicants and vote on each one by secret ballot. After the voting, the top three applicants will be invited to SIUC for an interview.

The committee will then schedule meetings with Guyon, Shepherd, and other people the dean search committee and applicants see fit.

Another vote will then be taken and the results will be given to the president and provost who will ultimately have the final say.

The president will then make a formal offer to the candidate of his choice, and will negotiate the terms and conditions of the dean’s appointment, Kelley wrote.

This is a security sensitive position. Before any offer of employment is made, the university will conduct a pre-employment background investigation, which includes a background check, Kelley wrote in a memo to Guyon.

Harry Haynsworth IV, former dean of the School of Law, left SIUC July 5 and Thomas Britton, associate dean, was appointed acting dean until a permanent dean is hired.

Britton said he is comfortable with his new position as acting dean and is enjoying it.

Everything so far is just fine, Britton said.

Erick Nordstrom, student bar association president, said he thinks Britton is a good person to have in the acting dean position because he is an SIU Law School graduate, an excellent administrator and knows how the system works between the central administration and the Law School.

I look forward to working with him (Britton), Nordstrom said.

Nordstrom said the law students had favored an external search, however the faculty and Law School first voted to do an internal search.

The recommendation for an internal search for a new dean was withdrawn at the July 13 faculty meeting and a motion approving a national search was adopted unanimously.

Now that it is an external search does not mean internal candidates are excluded, Nordstrom said.

Kelley said July 1, 1996 is the target date for the new law dean appointment, but he hopes an appointment will be made by the first of the year.

I expect it will take six months minimum, Guyon said.