Committee names Stein finalist

The Dean of Students search committee announced John Stein as its finalist in the second search conducted this year. The first search, which had been a national search, was restarted this spring after the committee concluded that none of the finalists fit the mold for Tech.

Initially, the second search was also going to be a national search, but the committee later opted to only review applicants from within the Institute.

"The search changed from a national search to an internal search when the two on-campus candidates expressed interest in the position. No one on campus applied during the first search. Those are decisions a search committee makes based on the information they have at the time," said William Schafer, vice president of Student Affairs.

The committee narrowed its focus to the two on-campus candidates and made a decision on which one would be a better fit for Tech.

"The search committee interviewed the candidates and recommended one candidate to go forward. That candidate was John Stein, [interim Dean of Students and director of Success Programs]," said Mitch Keller, graduate student body president.

During the first search, Stein said that he did not want to be the permanent Dean of Students and that he was simply holding the position until a permanent dean could be named. After the first search ended, Stein submitted his name for consideration.

"If there's a lesson to learn, it is never say never. I am absolutely thrilled that my candidacy is being seriously considered. It was a real educational experience about the Dean of Students position at Tech," Stein said.

According to Stein, time on the job was a big reason for him reconsidering his view of the Dean of Students position.

"It allowed to me to have experience within the position and to learn what the position meant to Tech. Another factor is while I was in the interim role, a number of people expressed tremendous support for my candidacy.

"That's important because you have to work closely with everyone. The third reason is coming to understand the history and legacy of the Dean's position. A more personal reason is that my wife told me that she supported my candidacy. You need a supportive network back home," Stein said.

Stein has been Dean of Students at two other colleges. His experience at the two previous positions is part of what initially kept him from putting his name up for consideration by the committee.

"Fifty percent of my job at the other schools was dealing with discipline issues, and I did not enjoy that. That part is minimized here because we have an entire office that handles disciplinary issues. It frees the Dean of Students up to have a relationship with the students in a more positive way," Stein said.

Stein is currently going through the on-campus interview process that the three finalists of the last search went through during the spring.

"We put the candidates through the same rigors as we did during the last search," Schafer said.

"When all is said and done, I will have had seventeen interviews with a variety of people and groups on campus. It has been very good because it has been very informative for me. I am learning about people's expectations and concerns with the position. It was informative for me to sit down and talk to people about the position," Stein said.

Once the interviews are completed, the people who conducted the interview will submit their comments to the search committee for review.

"The committee is going to look at feedback and see how we feel. We could have a Dean of Students at the end of fall or we could have to go back to a national search. I've heard a lot of good things about Stein, which inclines one to think he'll be a good candidate. I don't want anyone to think it's a foregone conclusion," Keller said.

"The bottom line is that it is never over until it is over. It is not a given in my mind," Stein said.

According to Keller, if a portion of the Tech community does not support him, then the search committee would have to go back and really look at the situation.

People involved with the search predicted that it would take a national search until the end of the fall semester to come up with the finalists.

"The timeline shifted dramatically with the internal search," Keller said.

"It moved along faster this time, which is ok. You want to move along in a thoughtful, methodical way, but you want to move along," Schafer said.

Though the search was quicker than the first search, the same process was performed for this group of candidates as for the last group.

"We had a good amount of time to discuss the candidates," Keller said.

"If the offer comes and I accept, it's a statement that I am one-hundred percent committed to the Dean of Students position," Stein said.