By
Jeremy Duda
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Next VP to be responsible for increased retention, outreach for women and minority
The UA began its search for a new vice president for undergraduate education last week, hoping to find a replacement by the beginning of fall 2001 semester.
The provost's office is looking for a new vice president to replace Michael Gottfredson, who left his post as undergraduate vice president at the University of Arizona in July to accept the Executive Vice Chancellor position at the University of California-Irvine. The position here is currently held by Randy Richardson, interim vice president.
A search committee, made up of UA faculty and students, has the responsibility of finding candidates who are qualified to fill the position. However, there are currently no candidates being considered.
"The notices about this are just now appearing in various publications, so I suspect in the next week or so we'll begin getting replies," said Charles Tatum, dean of humanities and chair of the search committee.
The group does not meet again until Dec. 7, when some applications will probably have come in.
"I think these searches need a lot of inertia before they really get going," said Chris Impey, an astronomy professor and member of the search committee.
The vice president for undergraduate education reports directly to the senior vice president for academic affairs and is a member of the university president's cabinet.
Some of the departments that report directly to the vice president for undergraduate education are the Honor's College, the Office of Curriculum and Registration, Office of Admission and the Office of Financial Aid.
One responsibility of the new vice president will be to help make the UA a more integrated campus by increasing the recruitment and retention of students from diverse backgrounds. A requirement for the position is listed by the provost's office as "sensitivity to the concerns of women and minorities."
Other duties include improving undergraduate advising and further development of first-year colloquiums. The candidate chosen to fill the post will also be expected to participate in the university's recently-announced $1 billion fund-raising campaign and to help in defining new directions in undergraduate education that the funding will make possible.
Minimum requirements are a doctorate or equivalent degree, academic credentials for full appointment as a professor, high level administrative experience and a good teaching record.
