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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

Search committee down to two candidates for Dean of College of Science and Engineering

Search committee down to two candidates for Dean of College of Science and Engineering

The search committee in charge of finding a new Dean of the College of Science and Engineering has narrowed its lengthy list of candidates down to two.

Among the remaining candidates is Chell Roberts, the Executive Dean of the College of Technology and Innovation and an engineering professor at Arizona State University. The other candidate for the position is TCU’s own Phillip Hartman, who is now serving as the chair of the Pre-Health Professions Advisory Committee, professor of biology and the Interim Dean of College of Science and Engineering, according to TCU This Week.

Associate Provost Ann Sewell worked on the search committee that was appointed by Provost Nowell Donovan to help find a replacement for the former dean, Demitris Kouris, since October 2012, according to TCU This Week.

The search committee screened 41 different applicants for the position. The committee’s goal was to determine which candidates were collegial, had good teaching ability, and were good researchers at some point in their careers. Administrative experience was also preferred but not required, Sewell said. 

The search firm used by the search committee, R. William Fund and Associates, recruited a diverse pool of applicants for the Dean position, according to TCU This Week.

Two females, 10 minorities, 11 deans/directors/VPs of their colleges, six Associate Deans and at least one candidate from every discipline within the TCU College of Science & Engineering applied for the job, according to TCU This Week.

Both candidates will speak at an open forum where they will discuss what they want to see for the future of the College of Science and Engineering, said Sewell.

Roberts is scheduled to speak on March 27 at 2:15 p.m. in Sid Richardson Lecture Hall 1. Hartman will speak at the same location on April 1 at 2:15 p.m., according to TCU This Week.

Hartman’s plans for the future for the College of Science and Engineering include promoting the teacher scholar model, continuing to hire great faculty and do a better job of marketing the college, he said.

“I’m excited to go through this process,” said Hartman. “This year as interim dean has convinced me this is a position that I enjoy and where I can drive professional satisfaction. I think I have done a good job as an Interim Dean so I would welcome the challenge of continuing on.”

While Hartman has never met his possible replacement, Roberts is a familiar face to some TCU faculty and administrators.

When Mike McCracken resigned from the same position in 2008, Roberts applied for the job but ultimately withdrew from the process. Roberts wanted to finish a study he was conducting at Arizona State and did not think it was best for him to take a job elsewhere before he completed his research, said Sewell.

TCU 360 was unable to speak to Roberts about his candidacy for dean due to scheduling conflicts.

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