time for a dean with extensive TBED experience?

Over the past month, the ol' Youngstown University has placed advertisements in publications such as the Chronicle of Higher Education to fill the position of the Dean of the newly constituted College of Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM). You can find additional information about the position here.

To review, the university is reorganizing its academic structure to contain all of the STEM disciplines under one college, to be headed by one dean. And so the search is on for a dean to lead the college . . .

According to the job description, this dean will be:

"responsible for leading the college and providing a bold vision for its future and national reputation. The ideal candidate will be a creative, collegial, and visionary individual who understands the importance of STEM research and scholarship, and its role in community engagement and regional economic development."

some selected key words: visionary, research, regional economic development

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I won't beat around the bush here. Our university drastically needs someone who will be not just a good manager, someone who will be not just a good fundraiser, but someone who has extensive experience with developing distinguished research and technology transfer programs and will be a catalyst for future economic growth.

We have seen in recent years how great leaders (a good local case study is the University of Akron) can dramatically impact a region's technology based economic development (TBED) potential.

As the role of a university is expanding beyond more than just scholarship and service, let's hope the members of the selection committee choose a new leader with business experience, in addition to academic and research experience.

The position will be available on July 1, 2007. Applications received by February 21, 2007 are guaranteed full consideration.