Santa Clara University

Dean Searches

I am pleased to announce that a search committee for the next dean of the Jesuit School of Theology has been constituted. I thank the following members of the committee for their generosity in serving on behalf of the School and the University:

• Thomas Bertelsen, Jr. (search committee chair and Chair, JST Board of Directors)
• Maureen Beckman (Assistant Dean, JST-SCU)
• Eduardo Fernández, S.J. (Associate Professor, JST-SCU)
• Kristin Heyer (Associate Professor, SCU)
• Bruce Lescher (Associate Academic Dean, JST-SCU)
• Paul Lickteig, S.J. (Student, JST-SCU)
• William O’Neill, S.J. (Associate Professor, JST-SCU)
• Gina Hens-Piazza (Professor, JST-SCU)
• Ed Ryan, assistant vice provost for academic affairs (SCU campus), will serve as a non-voting staff assistant to the Committee.

The committee, which reports to the Provost, is formulating a profile and ad for the JST dean position and is actively seeking nominations. From the pool of candidates, the committee will select a set of candidates for campus interviews. Upon completion of the campus interviews, the committee will transmit to the provost an unranked list of up to three top candidates along with the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. 

After discussion with the provost, I will make a selection and present the name of the dean finalist for approval to the JST chancellor, Adolfo Nicolás, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus.  Once he approves the candidate, the superior general will secure the approval of the Holy See through its Congregation for Catholic Education and the granting of a dean’s nihil obstat.  We hope the new dean will be announced this spring with an anticipated start date sometime this summer.

The process of appointing a search committee for the new dean of the School of Education and Counseling Psychology has begun. The provost is currently gathering nominations for the search committee and anticipates appointments to be made in the coming weeks. 

On Friday, October 21, we hosted the fall meeting of the Board of Trustees on campus and welcomed new trustees Scott Santarosa, S.J., John M. Sobrato, and Patricia Boitano. All new and current trustees also were invited to participate in an orientation session to learn about our Jesuit educational values, mission and legacy; the role of trustees; and overviews of the academic programs, the budget and finances, among other topics.

At the business meeting, Mick McCarthy, S.J. engaged the group with the first of three presentations on "Education as Spiritual Exercises." Father McCarthy made connections between how Jesuit education fits into broader liberal education and focused on the ancient tradition. Drawing upon ancient classical writers to modern-day Jesuits, he framed his talk around the questions: How do I live? How do I dialog? How do I die? How do I read? Father McCarthy's dynamic presentation was well-received and will be followed by Part 2 at the winter meeting of the trustees.

Other discussion items at the meeting included enrollment strategies for the Class of 2016 presented by Mike Sexton, an overview of the School of Law by Dean Don Polden, and acceptance of the audit report. Philip Boo Riley presented the Faculty Senate president's report on behalf of Bill Greenwalt, Faculty Senate Council president. The chair of the Board of Trustees, Bob Finocchio, thanked the faculty for their dedication to Santa Clara and noted that the high rankings we have received point to the caliber of education that our faculty offer to the benfit of our students.

This year's president of the Associated Student Government, Courtney Seymour, joined the meeting and reported on the three large student initiatives for the year: campus escort/transportation services, social spirit, and sustainability. 

Dear Faculty and Staff,

I am pleased to announce that M. Godfrey Mungal has been reappointed to serve a second term as Dean of the School of Engineering through August 31, 2017. In his first term as dean, Godfrey strengthened the School’s academic programs, catalyzed several new research initiatives, and increased the resonance between many of the School’s endeavors and the University’s mission to improve the human condition.

I wish to thank the Dean Evaluation Committee for their thorough review of Godfrey’s performance at the end of his fourth year serving as Santa Clara’s engineering dean. Provost Dennis Jacobs met with Godfrey to discuss the findings from the evaluation committee and provide him with constructive feedback. This fall, Godfrey will be meeting with the engineering faculty to present his vision for the School’s promising future and discuss his personal goals in response to the feedback provided by the evaluation committee.

Please join me in congratulating Godfrey on his reappointment and thanking him for his inspired leadership of the School.

Sincerely,

Michael Engh, S.J.
President

Michael E. Engh, S.J.
President