As the final candidates for Elon University’s inaugural dean of the new School of Engineering and Computing begin to visit campus and present to the Elon community, the search committee has made the decision to make the search confidential.
In an email sent to faculty and staff April 23, the search committee invited the Elon community to four different candidate presentations.
Associate Dean of the School of Communication Tony Weaver and professor of engineering Sirena Hargrove-Leak are leading the search committee and are working with Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm.
The email also stated that the candidate information should be kept confidential to “ensure the success of the search process and to protect the prospective candidates and their employment.”
The Office of the Provost sent an additional email to faculty and staff April 28 reminding them of this confidentiality requirement.
“Please do not disclose the identities of the candidates or contact outside individuals who may know them,” The Office of the Provost wrote in the email. “Candidates are relying on our assurances that their interest in this position remains confidential.”
The decision for confidentiality comes after non-confidential, public candidate presentations for the incoming dean of Student Health and Well-Being in March. Over the past four years, five of the six candidate searches to fill open dean positions at Elon have not required attendees to maintain confidentiality. The five non-confidential dean candidate searches that took place during this period were for the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, School of Health Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Communications and the dean of Student Health and Well-Being. The search for the dean of students last year was made confidential.
To attend candidate presentations, which began on April 29, attendees are required to sign their name and their email address, agreeing that they will not share candidate information.
Session 1: April 29, 2:15-3:00 p.m. in LaRose Commons Room 200
Session 2: May 1, 10:00-10:45 a.m. in LaRose Commons Room 200
Session 3: May 4, 3:15-4:00 p.m. in LaRose Commons Room 200
Session 4: May 6, 2:00-2:45 p.m. in LaRose Commons Room 200
The position of dean of the new School of Engineering and Computing will serve as the new school’s chief academic and administrative officer and will report to the provost, according to its job listing. The dean will help lead the founding of the school, which will open in fall 2026. The school will merge the existing departments of engineering and computer science with 18 full-time faculty and more than 300 undergraduate students.
In a previous interview with Elon News Network, professor of engineering Scott Wolter said that the dean will be the “decision maker,” and help the engineering department look at what the department’s strengths are and what types of programs the school will need.