UC-Berkeley J-School Dean Search Draws 365 Applicants

By: Joe Strupp At least 365 applicants have submitted their names for the coveted post of dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, as today?s deadline for applicants hits.

The dean?s post has been somewhat in limbo for more than a year and a half, since former dean Orville Schell stepped down in mid-2007, his initial replacement surprisingly withdrew four months after accepting the job, and college officials put off a second search for nearly a year.

?It obviously did not work out as everyone had hoped,? said Robert Berring, associate dean at the University?s Boalt Law School and chair of the J-school dean search committee. ?That withdraw put things in kind of a holding pattern.?

The situation began in 2007 when Schell, an 11-year veteran of the dean?s post and well-respected journalism instructor, retired. His retirement took effect June 30, 2007. Professor Neil Henry took over as interim dean as the first search began, resulting in the choice of Dianne Lynch, dean of the school of communications at Ithaca College in New York.

Officials said Lynch formally accepted the post July 20, 2007. But in November of that year, she withdrew, according to Robert Gunnison, director of school affairs for the J-School. He declined to comment on the reasons and Lynch, who remains at Ithaca, did not return several calls seeking comment.

An Oakland Tribune story in 2007 hinted at a possible reason when it reported the university declined to provide a copy of Lynch?s resume to the newspaper.

After Lynch withdrew, university officials chose to hold off on another search, keeping Henry in the post and beginning a second effort last October, Gunnison said.

?Neil was on the faculty and he was familiar with the operations of the school, so it was kind of seamless,? Gunnison said about the delay. ?The idea was for someone to be on the payroll by July 2009.?

University officials would not discuss the potential salary, saying it would have to be negotiated. But when Lynch was originally hired, her salary was set at $230,600, according to the recommendation report at the time.

One change for the second search was the hiring of a search firm, OPUS Search Partners of Philadelphia, and creation of a new search committee headed by Berring.

?It is seldom done,? Berring admitted about the use of a search firm. ?We wanted to be sure we were finding the best person we could. The committee has been asked to submit three names to the vice chancellor of the university.?

With today?s deadline for applicants soon to pass, Berring expects the search committee to begin reviewing the applicants, which had reached 365 as of Friday.

?It is not surprising given the nature of the [journalism] field,? Berring said of the large applicant pool so far. ?You are drawing from a lot of different places.?