The ongoing search for a new dean for the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs should serve as a model for the rest of Syracuse University as several institutions on campus, including the College of Visual and Performing Arts and Hendricks Chapel, move to secure their future leadership.

Over the course of the past week, the Maxwell dean search committee hosted a series of seven town hall meetings, each specifically geared toward concentrating on the opinions of different factions within the Maxwell School, including Maxwell graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, staff and the greater SU community.

The search is a result of Maxwell Dean James Steinberg’s Sept. 1 announcement that he will be stepping down at the end of this academic year to become a University Professor at Maxwell. Prior to his position at Maxwell, Steinberg served as deputy secretary of state to former Secretary of State and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton from 2009 until his resignation in 2011.

The search committee’s emphasis on balance, open dialogue and its willingness to identify and provide a constructive outlet for the primary stakeholders in the ultimate decision should be reciprocated by other university bodies on campus. Creating these opportunities for students, staff and faculty upholds strong communication among the community and helps contribute relevant viewpoints in the pursuit of a candidate that is best suited for the school in question.

These forums found that while Maxwell students appear to be more concerned about the rising dean being able to cultivate a stronger culture within the school, faculty and staff placed more emphasis on the lack of financial transparency within Maxwell and a desire to have the new dean come from a background that is not based in politics or law.

Like other university-hosted dialogue spaces on campus, these sessions provide the infrastructure needed to generate a rounded perspective from those who engage most with the school on a day-to-day basis. Reaching out to members of the specific school’s community, making these options available to its members and maintaining this democratic form of discussion is an important value for any aspect of campus working to solidify new leadership.

During the different town halls, various community members expressed concern with Steinberg’s tenure as dean and brought up traits they wish to see in a new dean. While these sentiments should be taken with a grain of salt, considering Steinberg has upheld the school’s prestige, raised nearly $27 million in donations for the school and established the Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry and the Aging Studies Institute, these details cited by the community should contribute to a more pointed search for a new dean.

Each factor should be taken into consideration as the university approaches selecting and hiring a candidate. But as a university-wide goal of actively seeking out the community’s thoughts, concerns and suggestions, the Maxwell search committee has set a standard at a time when influential leadership decisions are being made that will guide the future of SU and its respective institutions for years to come.

Published on January 26, 2016 at 1:24 am

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