Four Candidates for UNCA's Highest Academic Post Announced; Candidates to Visit Campus Beginning March 7

UNC Asheville has released the names of four finalists for the position vice chancellor of academic affairs, the chief academic officer at the university.

"We had a very large number of solid, qualified applicants for this position and are very pleased with the final four candidates," said Dr. Tracy Brown, UNCA psychology professor and VCAA Search Committee chair.

Brown attributed the high caliber of the applicant pool to UNC Asheville’s ranking as one of the nation’s best public liberal arts colleges and to the reputation within academia of the Asheville Institute, a summer workshop run by UNC Asheville for colleges and universities who are revising their general education programs.

The four finalists are:

-- Dr. J. David Arnold, who has served at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y. as provost and dean of the faculty.

-- Dr. Susan Coultrap-McQuin, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

-- Dr. William Frawley, faculty director of Academic Programs and Planning for undergraduate education at the University of Delaware.

-- Dr. Rosemary Keefe, dean of faculties at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, a public liberal arts college and recent addition to the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, of which UNCA is a member.

"These four people each embody the specific combination of leadership ability, administrative experience, and scholarly background that UNC Asheville seeks," said Brown.

Starting Thursday, March 7, each of the candidates will visit UNCA for two days of interviews and presentations. The public is invited to attend each candidate's public presentation on "The Liberal Arts Experience at Its Best." Coultrap-McQuin will give her presentation at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, March 7, in Owen Conference Center; Keefe, 1:45 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, Owen Conference Center; Frawley, 3:15 p.m. Friday, March 22, Owen Conference Center; and Arnold, 3:15 p.m. Friday, March 29, Owen Conference Center.

With 12 years of administrative experience, Arnold has secured more than $1 million in private foundation grants for his college. In 1982 he earned a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of New Hampshire and has published scholarship on effective teaching methods. Before going to St. John Fisher as Provost, he held teaching posts at Clarion College in Clarion, Pa. and St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. "Dr. Arnold brings extensive administrative experience and a strong, faculty-oriented background to the position," said Brown.

With a 1979 Ph.D. in American studies from the University of Iowa, Coultrap-McQuin has served Mankato as dean for six years. She is the author of numerous scholarly articles and three books, two on 19th century women writers and one on feminist ethics. Her 1990 book "Doing Literary Business" won two national awards. She has also taught at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. She is described by Brown as having "an effective, collaborative, and engaging leadership style that is both substantive and creative."

With a distinguished career as a scholar in the areas of linguistics and cognitive science, Frawley’s administrative responsibilities at Delaware primarily involve undergraduate programs, including the Honors Program and Undergraduate Research. He has published four books and numerous articles. With a 1979 Ph.D. in linguistics from Northwestern University, he speaks Spanish, French and Polish and has a reading knowledge of Russian and German. In 1985 he traveled to Poland as a Fulbright Scholar. "Dr. Frawley combines strengths in strategic planning and vision with leadership ability and administrative know-how," said Brown.

With a 1977 Ph.D. in English from the University of Arkansas, Keefe has written two books and numerous articles in the areas of women’s history and literature. While on the faculty at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., she received an award as a distinguished teacher. She has also participated in a prestigious year-long training program in academic leadership as a Fellow of the American Council on Education. In 1990 she traveled to New Zealand as a Fulbright Scholar. "Having worked hard to secure Wisconsin-Superior’s admission to the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges," says Brown, "Dr. Keefe brings an unusually deep and insightful understanding of the public liberal arts mission."

This past August, UNCA formed a 15-member VCAA Search Committee and began a national search for a vice chancellor for academic affairs. When the interview and presentation process is complete, the committee will recommend the names of several finalists to UNCA Chancellor James Mullen, who will make the final selection.

Dr. Thomas Cochran is serving as interim vice chancellor for academic affairs. Dr. Cochran has worked in many capacities at UNCA over the past 25 years, including dean of faculty and associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. He also served as interim vice chancellor for academic affairs for a period in 1994 and again in 1995-96.

For more information, visit the UNCA VCAA Search Web site or call UNCA Public Information at 828/251-6526.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Tracy Brown, UNCA Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Search Committee Chair, 828/251-6828
• Merianne Epstein, UNCA Public Information Director, 828/251-6676, pager 257-5501