In case you missed today’s meeting with the Dean about the future leadership of the department, I have copied her Nov 22 email to mathgrads (and other department list-serves) below. She is interested in hearing not only from faculty, but also from post-docs and graduate students as well. You are still welcome to send her your thoughts by email by December 13. Please see below for her letter, and link to the “Statement of Responsibilities.”
Faculty, Staff, and Select Student Representatives
Department of Mathematics
Dear Colleagues,
As you know, Professor Anthony Bloch is the chair of the Department of Mathematics and that appointment is scheduled to end on June 30, 2020. I would like to invite your participation and input in determining the next department chair. On Tuesday, December 3, 2019 from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. in room 1360 in East Hall, I will be convening a meeting to discuss the strategic direction of the department and possibilities for department leadership in the future. I hope that in addition to taking part in this conversation, you will also share with me your personal views and nominations. In preparation for the meeting, I urge you to give considered thought to the leadership of your department. Your participation is critical to a robust discussion from all perspectives. I will rely heavily on opinions expressed during the meeting and your individual responses in order to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges of the department, and to compile a list of nominees for leadership.
During our meeting and in your personal correspondence, I ask you to advise me about the current status and future needs of the department, both in general terms and specifically as these matters affect your choice of chair. I hope you will identify the major strengths of the department that must be maintained and specific problems that affect the future welfare of the department.
In addition to this feedback, I especially invite you to consider carefully any tenured colleague who might be appropriate (including yourself), and then to send me nominations–with brief supporting statements–of those who you feel are best qualified to lead the department as chair during the next few years. Please think about the qualities of leadership, fairness, vision, dedication to academic excellence, commitment to diversity, and capacity to foster a sense of community and trust within the unit, as well as scholarly excellence. The attached statement of responsibilities may help to provide you with an understanding of the role that your chair is expected to fulfill within the college and university community.
Your replies will be held in strictest confidence. They will be read only by me, the divisional associate dean responsible for your department, and one member of the Executive Committee. I will contact the nominated faculty members to ascertain their interest and their priorities, and will share with them the confidential process that will follow. Please know that this entire process will be treated confidentially, and that all letters will be destroyed once an appointment has been made.
Please send your response either by email to: [email protected], or by letter to the LSA Building – Suite 2205, so that it reaches my office no later than Friday, December 13, 2019.
Best,
Anne
—
Anne Curzan
Dean
Geneva Smitherman Collegiate Professor of English Language and Literature, Linguistics, and Education
Arthur F. Thurnau Professor
College of Literature, Science, and the Arts | University of Michigan
500 South State Street | LSA 2205 | Ann Arbor, MI | 48109-1382
Phone: 734.764.0322 | Email: [email protected]
Pronouns: she/her
