Four finalists have been selected in a search to replace interim Dean of the College of Fine Arts Jim Linnell, who suffered a spinal cord injury in Mexico over winter break.
One finalist has already visited UNM’s campus, and three more will follow in the coming weeks.
A search committee formed last fall received numerous applications from around the country. The committee can’t release the total number until the search is complete.
Search Committee Chair and dean of School of Architecture and Planning Geraldine Forbes-Isais said the committee is looking for someone who wants to be at UNM and has high academic achievements.
“We searched for candidates that we felt were contemporary and forward-looking in their vision,” she said. “The type of leader that would be able to work with all of the constituencies of the college and move them forward, and someone who really wanted to be here at the University of New Mexico and saw it as a great place to build a great school and build their own career.”
Linnell announced last semester that he would be stepping down in June. After his spinal cord injury, Linnell was rushed to the UNM trauma center to undergo surgery on Dec. 29, after receiving initial medical care in Mexico, according to a statement from his family.
The statement said his surgery was successful and that he is in stable condition. Linnell will soon begin rehabilitation at a spinal injury clinic in Denver.
According to Forbes-Isais, the search process is on schedule. The committee is composed of administrators, alumni, faculty and a graduate students, most from the College of Fine Arts. She said she is pleased with the search committee’s focus and collaboration.
“I was lucky that the search committee was interested in spending the time to identify the best candidate, and they really did their homework,” Forbes-Isais said.
Judith Thorpe is a professor and head of the Art & Art History Department in the School of Fine Arts at the University of Connecticut. Thorpe visited the UNM campus on Monday for a faculty and public forum.
Ronald Shields is a professor and chair of the Department of Theatre and Film at Bowling Green State University. Shields will be at UNM for a faculty forum on Thursday from 9:45-10:45 a.m. in the SUB Mirage-Thunderbird room and a public forum from 3:30-5 p.m. in the same room.
Kymberly Pinder is a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she served as graduate program head and department chair. Pinder will be at UNM for a faculty forum on March 7 from 9:45-10:45 a.m. in a location to be determined and a public forum from 3:30-5 p.m. in the SUB Acoma room.
Sanjit Sethi is director of the Center for Art and Public Life and the Barclay Simpson chair of community art at California College of the Arts. Sethi will be at UNM for a faculty forum on March 1 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. in the SUB Lobo room A and a public forum from 3-4:30 p.m. in Dane Smith Hall room 123.
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