According to a March 8 campuswide e-mail from Provost Marty Krauss, a search committee for the next dean of Arts and Sciences has been formed and will begin the process of searching for someone to take over the position shortly.The committee will be looking for a successor for the current Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe. Having served in the position for a 5-year term, which was then renewed for an additional 3 years, Jaffe believes that it is "time to get someone new with fresh ideas."

Krauss wrote in her campuswide e-mail that the committee consists of nine members, primarily faculty and administrators: Profs. Robin Feuer Miller (GRALL), Peter Conrad (SOC), Sarah Lamb (ANTH), Eve Marder (NPSY), Charles McClendon (FA), Dean of Career Services at the Hiatt Career Center Joseph Du Pont, Assistant Vice President of the Office of Budget and Planning Kris McKeigue and Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Ph.D. candidate Daniel Schwartz. One undergraduate, Gabrielle Kaplan '13, is also serving on the committee. "As the only undergrad, ... it's my responsibility to try to assess what the majority of students are feeling and give that input to the rest of the committee," Kaplan said in an interview with the Justice.

An internal search will be conducted to assist the process of filling the position, said Miller, the committee chair, in an interview with the Justice.

This means, according to Miller, that the committee will "seek nominations for the position from the faculty with the goal of appointing someone as dean who is already a member of the Brandeis faculty." This contrasts with the search for the new provost, which is currently under way and is utilizing the aid of an outside search firm. With the use of an internal search, the process "will be able to move along more rapidly," said Miller.

As of press time, the search process had not yet begun, Miller said, but the committee was "trying to schedule [their first meeting] as soon as possible." According to Miller it is important for this meeting to include University President Frederick Lawrence and Provost Marty Krauss to discuss how the committee can best "build a team that can really work together." Miller said that once the search is under way, the committee's first steps will be collecting nominations for the position and interviewing candidates.

Although the search for the new provost is still under way, Miller said that it would be "tremendously helpful" if the committee knew who was going to hold this position because the two decisions go hand-in-hand, as they are both integral parts of Brandeis' administration. The committee will be "trying to build a senior administrative team that [is] balance[d] and represents different areas in the University," and the knowledge of the new provost would assist in creating the most effective team, said Miller said.

Jaffe's achievements at the University include the creation of new opportunities for undergraduates, such as research internships, experiential learning practicum and the Justice Brandeis Semester, yet he says that there is still much to be done.

"I think it's an ongoing challenge to reach our goal of being a place where [the] faculty [is] engaged in world class research, but at the same time making sure that undergrads have the kind of individual attention that we think is the hallmark of a Brandeis education."

Jaffe offered general advice for the new dean: "Spend as much of your time as you can listening, and relatively little talking. . There's a lot to learn, but that . makes it fun.