College of Arts and Sciences names acting dean
Jennifer Drake, director of the Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellowship Program at the University of Indianapolis, will become acting dean for the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) beginning Aug. 25.
Drake was selected by Executive Vice President and Provost Deborah Balogh in part due to Drake’s previous work.
“[Drake] has demonstrated strong collaboration, management, leadership and monetary skills in the Woodrow Wilson program,” Balogh said. “The College of Arts and Sciences represents a wide range of disciplines, so the choice seemed to fit really well.”
While preparing for her new position, Drake is seeking opinions of those within CAS to ensure every new endeavor runs smoothly and benefits the college.
“I am meeting with the College of Arts and Sciences department chairs one-on-one right now, and I will be meeting with faculty this semester,” Drake said. “Their thoughts on departmental strengths and needs will drive my thinking about my priorities as acting dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.”
Drake will serve as Acting Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences.
There will be a nationwide search for a permanent dean within the next two years.
Although the decision concerning who will become the permanent dean is ultimately hers, Balogh said that she will take into account the opinions of other deans, administration and faculty.
The previous dean of CAS, Associate Professor of Modern Languages Daniel Briere, stepped down from the position after a new opportunity presented itself.
Briere will now work on implementing a new three credit hour course at the university that will act as a freshman seminar for all majors.
According to Briere, the course will be on a topic that is attractive to students, and hopefully will carry credit in each student’s major area.
One goal of the course is to involve students by offering a course that will interest them.
“An engaged student is motivated, and a motivated student is a student that will do well,” Briere said.
He will be working on this as a two-year project and hopes to implement the program in the fall of 2013.
Briere also will assist in closely monitoring students’ academic progress, to meet a new government regulation, the Satisfactory Academic Progress program.
According to Briere, students’ grades will be monitored on a semester-by-semester basis. Two-thirds of each student’s course work per semester must be found satisfactory, or the student’s financial aid eligibility will be affected.
Examples of unsatisfactory work include a failing grade in a course and withdrawal from a course.
Briere said that the new federal regulation was driven by colleges and universities that have allowed students to continue receiving financial aid without showing substantial academic progress.
However, while unsatisfactory work affects financial aid eligibility, it does not affect academic eligibility.
Briere had been seeking a new opportunity for a while, and after asking Balogh if there were any new administrative roles he could fill, he was directed towards these programs.
“I’ve been the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for seven years,” Briere said. “I figured with seven years of leading the college, it was time to step down to allow fresh ideas and vision in the office.”
Briere was asked by Balogh if he had any suggestions for an acting dean, and he recommended Drake.
“She [Drake] has done a remarkable job in setting up the Woodrow Wilson program and getting national prominence,” Briere said. “Her people skills are wonderful, and they are important within the College of Arts and Sciences. The faculty will need to come to her to discuss issues. With [Drake], they know that she will be understanding, but at the same time, fair.”
