Chancellor Search Committee Chair Dennis Bottorff announced July 31 the members of the Advisory Committee of faculty, students and staff that will assist the Board of Trust as it seeks to identify the next chancellor of Vanderbilt University. The Advisory Committee will be chaired by Vanderbilt Divinity School Dean James Hudnut-Beumler. Bottorff’s message to the Vanderbilt community is below.
TO: Vanderbilt Faculty, Students and Staff
FROM: Dennis C. Bottorff, Chair, Chancellor Search Committee
Today I am pleased to announce the appointment of the Advisory Committee of faculty, students and staff who will assist the Board of Trust’s Search Committee as we seek to identify the next Chancellor of Vanderbilt University. The Advisory Committee will be an essential and active part of the search process. Their charge is to help the Board of Trust develop and evaluate the criteria to be used in seeking candidates, to solicit comments and suggestions from the Vanderbilt community through public meetings and online surveys, and to assist the Board of Trust in presenting a full and complete portrait of Vanderbilt.
The Advisory Committee includes representatives of the Faculty Senate, University and Medical Center Staff Advisory Councils, the Vanderbilt Student Government, and the Graduate and Professional Student Council.
Dean James Hudnut-Beumler of the Vanderbilt Divinity School has agreed to serve as chair of the Advisory Committee and the liaison to the Search Committee. He will be joined on the Advisory Committee by:
- Jeffrey Balser, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and James Tayloe Gwathmey Clinician-Scientist Professor, Professor of Anesthesiology, Medicine and Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Bruce Barry, Professor of Management and Sociology, Owen Graduate School of Management, and Chair of the Faculty Senate
- Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development and Professor of Psychology, Peabody College of Education and Human Development
- Cara Bilotta, Senior and President, Vanderbilt Student Government
- Joshua Brooks, Ph.D. Student in Pharmacology and President, Graduate and Professional Student Council
- Tony Brown, Associate Professor of Sociology
- Frank Dobson, Director, Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center
- Cornelia Heard, Professor and Chair of Violin, Blair School of Music
- Cathy Jrade, Professor and Chancellor’s Chair, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
- Ned Allen Porter, Stevenson Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Biochemistry and Chair, Department of Chemistry
- JoGale Ray, The Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital, representing Medical Center Staff Council
- John Sergent, Professor and Vice Chair for Education, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Susan Wente, Professor and Chair, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology; Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Diana Wohlfahrt, Human Resources Services, representing University Staff Council.
It is important to note that the Board of Trust will make the final selection and the Advisory Committee will not meet with or interview candidates during this confidential process. However, we will rely on the Advisory Committee to provide advice and counsel to the Search Committee regarding the concerns and aspirations of Vanderbilt’s many constituencies. In addition, the Search Committee will provide many opportunities for members of the Vanderbilt community to offer input. The Board of Trust is eager to hear your voice about the future of Vanderbilt University.
For more information about the search, please check www.vanderbilt.edu/chancellorsearch.
Media contact: Michael Schoenfeld, (615) 343-1790
michael.schoenfeld@vanderbilt.edu