Search for dean of Truman School of Public Affairs suspended

The search for the dean of the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri is now suspended.

According to Christian Basi, the spokesperson for MU, Provost Stokes wanted to have more conversations about the “future direction of the school.” Basi says they had a strong candidate pool.

MU says it is a critical time and this is an important decision they do not want to rush.

The Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs released the following statement:

“Dear TPSA Colleagues:

I wanted to provide an update on the search for a new dean for the Truman School of Public Affairs. First, I want to offer my thanks to Dean Kathryn Chval and the members of the search committee for the time and effort they have invested. I was very pleased that the candidate pool yielded some strong finalists, and as a result, I made the decision to invite three candidates to campus for interviews. Unfortunately, two of the three finalists did not accept our invitation to interview.

After careful consideration, I have decided that it is best to stop the search and identify an interim leader for service following Dean Wechsler’s retirement. I will confer with various groups in the school, on campus and externally, to get thoughts about the best path forward. In the near future, my office will be scheduling small group meetings within the School. I am interested in broad input. Whatever route we take, we must focus on excellence in advancing Mizzou’s mission in a unified and compelling way.

I look forward to working with you as we plan the future of the Truman School of Public Affairs during this time of leadership transition.

Sincerely,
Garnett

Garnett S. Stokes
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs”