On October 5, all constituents in the School of Architecture (SoA) and School of Liberal Arts & Science (SLAS) received Election Runner ballots in their Pratt email for ranking faculty and chair candidates from their schools to serve on the search committees for their new deans.

The search committee will be composed of five faculty members from within the school—a majority of the search committee, in compliance with the Faculty Handbook—one chair from within the school, one chair from outside the school, and two staff members appointed by the Provost. For general information about the search, please see the Provost’s announcement of the position.

The Academic Senate is charged with nominating faculty and chairs to search committees for deans; these are recommendations to the Provost. Last year, the Senate approved a new process that allows constituents in the school of the search to rank their own faculty and chair nominees to these committees. These nominees represent their entire school, and there is a limit of one per department to ensure that committees are representative. In the case of SoA, there are only four departments, so the highest ranked faculty candidate overall and the highest ranked faculty candidate from each of the four departments will be recommended to the committee, along with the highest ranked chairs candidate from within the school. The Senate will vote on October 23 on the one chair from outside the school, who represents the Institute beyond SoA.

During the nomination period (Sept 12–28), we received nearly 50 nominees in SoA and 40 in SLAS, who were all asked to confirm their acceptance in writing. Those who accept nomination are asked to provide candidate statements by October 3, which will appear on the ballots.

All faculty, chairs, assistant chairs, and staff who teach or hold faculty rank in SoA and SLAS will receive ballots in their Pratt email on Friday, October 5. You will be allowed to select up to five faculty candidates and one chairs candidate. You are advised to vote for at least one faculty member from each department so as to maximize your vote. Ballots will close on Friday, October 19 at 11:59pm, and a reminder will be sent to those who have not voted two days before this.

We will announce the results of all votes after the Senate meeting on October 23. You are also encouraged to take part in later phases of the search process, including meeting with finalists for the position in the spring.

Please feel free to contact senate@pratt.edu with any questions, and thank you for your participation in this important search!