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Arts & Sciences Dean Search Delayed a Year

From an e-mail sent out to Arts and Sciences faculty by Marquette President Scott Pilarz:

The conversations with so many of you and my own conviction about the centrality of this college to the future of Marquette University have helped me to conclude that it is in the best interests of the college — and the university — to have Father Phil Rossi continue as interim dean through the 2012-2013 academic year. I am grateful to Father Rossi both for his past service and for his continuing leadership, and I have pledged my support to him as he continues to help the college move forward. Fr. Rossi’s leadership and the continued involvement of the Arts and Sciences chairs will be critical in our discernment and planning for a new dean.

I have asked Provost John Pauly to work with the college during the next eight months to identify the challenges and opportunities facing the college and what we should be looking for in a new dean. I intend to be part of that process as well, recognizing the importance of this hire. It is then my intent to launch a national search in fall 2012. This decision will be announced to the campus community in this afternoon’s News Briefs.

I want to thank you for the support I am confident you will continue to give Father Rossi and to urge you to be actively involved as we assess the future of the college. Thank you.

Scott Pilarz, S.J.

In the spring of 2010, the search to fill this dean position turned into a monumental fiasco when an outspoken lesbian was offered the job, and then the offer was rescinded when the nature of the things she has written (anti-marriage, discussion of sex toys) became known.

Pilarz apparently decided this entire issue is a hot potato, and that he needs to get his ducks in line before tackles it.

But what sort of ducks does he want to get in line? Among the numerous politically correct faculty and administrators at Marquette, hiring a gay or lesbian dean would be a dandy idea, and especially a way of making amends to the campus gay lobby. Make no mistake, most administrators at Marquette (at least those on the academic side, in Student Affairs and in Mission and Identity) are strong promoters of the gay agenda.

Pilarz himself, judging from the “inclusion initiative” he put in place at Scranton seems to be rather politically correct. But our guess is that he will not want to reopen the issue of a lesbian (or gay) dean.

One thing is sure: when the search takes place, all candidates will received vastly more scrutiny than they have been subjected to in the past.