Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State soon will begin national searches for two academic deans.
"We're in the process of putting together the appropriate committees to identify the strongest possible candidates for our Bagley College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences," said university President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong.
Engineering dean Kirk Schulz recently was selected as the land-grant institution's vice president for research and economic development following a national search. Also, arts and sciences dean Philip Oldham is leaving this summer to become provost at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
"The Holland Faculty Senate is in the process of electing faculty representatives to serve on each committee, and we'll be moving ahead once that is in place," explained Peter Rabideau, MSU provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Jim West, dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Design, will chair the engineering search. The arts and sciences search will be chaired by Kent Hoblet, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
The Bagley College of Engineering is the largest and most comprehensive engineering school in the state. It ranks in the top 10 percent nationally in engineering research expenditures, ahead of most other Southeastern Conference schools.
The College of Arts and Sciences, one of the largest of MSU's academic units, comprises about 300 faculty members in 16 departments and enrolls approximately 3,500 majors.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.