March 25, 2019
Dear Faculty Colleagues,
Earlier today, Prof. Leslie Parise announced that she will step down as Chair of the Faculty by the end of this semester. I am truly grateful for her service and wish Leslie the best as she returns to her departmental and research responsibilities full time.
Let me now describe the process by which the vacancy will be filled. The Faculty Code of University Government ยง 3-5 stipulates that the Advisory Committee appoints an interim chair of the faculty, who serves until the faculty can elect a successor. Because it is too late to include a new slate of candidates in the current cycle (the ballots go out this week), I expect the interim chair will serve through June of 2020, and will be succeeded by the candidate who wins the next election a year from now.
The Advisory Committee will meet as often as necessary in the coming weeks to choose the interim chair. To aid in this process, the Office of Faculty Governance has created a web portal through which faculty can suggest names for the committee to consider. Because time is short, I urge you to submit your nominations by the end of this week.
I am confident the Advisory Committee, which is elected by the faculty at large, will find a worthy colleague to lead us through the coming year.
Yours truly,
Vin Steponaitis
Secretary of the Faculty
William E. Leuchtenburg Distinguished Professor
of Archaeology and Anthropology
