Academic Dean Search: Jeffrey Frick Visits Campus

The third and final candidate for the position of academic dean, Jeffrey Frick, professor of chemistry and academic provost at Illinois Wesleyan, visited the campus which included a tour of the campus, meetings with various student leaders, faculty and staff, as well as an open forum.The academic dean search started after the current dean, Michael Marsden, announced his partial retirement (which includes stepping down from the dean position) in the fall.

At the open forum, Frick started with remarks about the importance of a liberal arts education.

"The whole notion of career preparation is almost ridiculous to think about in today's society," said Frick, citing the fact that many people work in fields not directly related to their undergraduate degree.

"It is much more important to learn how to learn so you can go on from there [undergraduate study] and be successful and any field you wish to pursue," said Frick.

In a liberal arts education, "we allow students to focus on the important questions while gaining necessary skills," said Frick.

Speaking specifically to the advantages and draw of St. Norbert College, Frick stated, "The more I hear about St. Norbert College, the more I am excited about the opportunity of being a part of the journey you are on here."

St. Norbert's faith-based, student-centered, residential, and mission - especially the idea of communio - "ring true" to Frick, but he also noted the vision of SNC's future.

"There is a really strong desire on this campus to enhance the academic rigor and academic reputation. You have all the pieces in place to become much more widely known in this nation."

During the question and answer session that followed Frick's statement, he was asked for specific strategies to increase diversity on campus. Frick suggested creating partnerships with inner city schools and hiring culturally diverse faculty by seeking candidates out specifically.

When asked about service learning, Frick talked about partnering with national service learning programs as well as expanding the conventional definition of service to include things like sustainability.

The draw of the dean position is attractive to Frick because it would give him the opportunity to create a meaningful impact on an institution, work with both faculty and administration and challenge himself to grow both personally and professionally.

Frick follows Sunil Kukreja and Brian Coniff as the third candidate to visit campus.