By Inés Guérin
The University of Portland recently began its search for a new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), following current CAS Dean Marlene Moore's announcement of resignation earlier this semester.
The search committee has invited three candidates for interviews: Peter Braza, an associate dean at the University of North Florida; Bridget Keegan, chair of the English department at Creighton University; and the Rev. Stephen Rowan from Seattle University.
Bridget Keegan recently abandoned her candidacy to the CAS dean position, but declined to give details to The Beacon regarding this decision.
Keegan and the other two candidates visited campus on different days during March and April.
After each interview, the search committee gave faculty members, the current CAS dean, officers, staff and students a questionnaire to evaluate the candidate. Some of the questions regarding the criteria for eligibility were academic and administrative experience, commitment to UP's mission and openness to varying points of view.
Braza said his impression of UP was "overwhelmingly positive."
"Brother Donald [Stabrowski, C.S.C.,] was often my escort during my time on campus and students invariably came up and greeted him enthusiastically," Braza said. "The campus, the people, struck me as being part of a very warm community, and the natural beauty didn't escape me either."
Rowan, who serves as chair of the Fulcrum Foundation, said he was very impressed with the campus and the people he met. The grounds and the buildings were in good shape, which is a sign of healthy institutional pride, and the people were invariably courteous, probative in their questioning and considerate of time, Rowan said.
"I was especially impressed by the students I met, who seemed proud of their education at the University of Portland and confident that it will stand them in good stead for the future," Rowan said. "The University can be proud of its students, judging from the ones I met."
Braza said he is particularly drawn to the University of Portland because of its Catholic culture and values. Without those values he wouldn't have applied to be the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Braza said.
"I am looking forward to moving into a role of leading a college," Braza said. "It's also my natural inclination to want to achieve more."
Braza said "being relevant" is the most pressing issue today confronting institutes of higher learning.
"Students are at the time in their lives when they start asking deeper questions about the meaning of life; so what does a university have to offer?" Braza asked.
According to Braza, society as a whole needs more civic-minded citizens - the question is whether or not the faculty and graduating students are contributing positively towards this goal.
"What I got out of [John Henry] Newman's book, 'The Idea of a University,' was that the primary purpose of attending a university was to fulfill one's potential so as to live a life more capable of embracing the goodness of people and God's creation," Braza said. "I think inculcating this value is the challenge and the primary mission of the College of Arts and Sciences."
Kathy Robb, the administrative assistant for the Office of the Provost, said it is difficult to evaluate the interviews at this point. Also, the search committee has not set a specific date to make a decision about the new dean, Robb said.
Moore will step down as dean on Aug. 31.
