Colleagues-
I hope that all is going well for you and that you are enjoying the unusual spring that we have experienced these past weeks. I am writing to give you a quick update regarding the status of the search for the next dean and director of UNL Extension.
As you know, we welcomed four finalists to interview with us for this critically important leadership role during the month of March. I appreciated very much the level of interest that each of them shared for the position and was impressed with their past records of professional accomplishment. However, after diligently reviewing the feedback from our internal and external clientele, and after consulting the search advisory committee, I have reached the conclusion that we have not yet identified the candidate that best fits our needs and expectations for leading UNL Extension in to the future. Thus, this past week I have notified the four previous finalists of this decision and thanked them for their interest in the position.
Unfortunately, the search advisory committee did not recommend any additional candidates from the search pool for further consideration for the position. So, beginning immediately, we are inviting additional targeted candidates to consider the position. I hope to move this process forward as quickly as possible with optimistic hope to still stay on track to have a seamless transition on July 1 with the new dean and director on board.
I am a firm believer in making sure that positions like this one -- where the right mix of vision, strategic thinking, and ability to manage and execute a large and complex team is absolutely essential – end up with the right person in place. Please rest assured that we will be successful in making that happen.
I welcome your continued engagement in the process as we move in to this next phase of evaluation. Stay tuned, as I am hopeful to have the next candidate announced for interviews very soon.
As always, thanks so much for all you continue to do --
Ronnie D. Green, Ph.D.
NU Vice President and IANR Harlan Vice Chancellor,
Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Professor of Animal Science