Flint chancellor candidates began campus visits May 3

The U-M-Flint Chancellor Search Committee released the names of five finalists for that position April 26. The announcement came after consultation with President Lee C. Bollinger and was made by search committee chair and chemistry Prof. Virgil Cope. The candidates are Mary M. Childers, director of capital giving at Dartmouth College; William Hubert Keen, interim president of the State University of New York (SUNY)-Old Westbury; Juan E. Mestas, deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH); John W. Miller, dean of the Florida State University (FSU) College of Education; and Interim Chancellor Beverly J. Schmoll. “In examining candidates, the committee looked for proven leaders who could make significant contributions to U-M-Flint,” Cope said. “However, we did not hold strictly to the need for a traditional progression through academic administrative ranks. We believe that this strategy led us to an exciting pool of candidates. They represent real choices for the campus community.”

Cope said he expects campus visits to conclude by May 19. Complete credentials for each candidate are on the Web at www.flint.umich.edu.

Childers

Childers assumed the duties of capital giving director at Dartmouth College in 1998. She coordinates capital projects and solicits gifts in excess of $100,000. She manages two offices for development, one in Hanover, N.H., and a regional office in California. Prior to that, she served as the college’s equal opportunity and affirmative action director as well as special assistant to the president on affirmative action issues. She joined the Dartmouth community in 1991 as adjunct assistant professor of women’ studies and served as its Women’s Resource Center director in 1991–1993.

Her administrative experience also includes roles as associate director for the University of Maine at Orono Women’s Educational Equity grant and as associate for institution relations for the colleges of the State University of New York (SUNY)-Buffalo.

In addition to her faculty appointment at Dartmouth, Childers was assistant professor of English at Villanova, visiting assistant professor of English at Oberlin College, visiting assistant professor of English and women’s studies at Dartmouth, and Mellon Visiting Assistant Professor of English and Humanities at Vanderbilt University.

Childers holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the State University of New York-Buffalo and a B.A. from the State University of New York-Albany.

Childers also is a trainer and consultant on sexual harassment issues.

Keen

Before his appointment as interim president, Keen was provost and vice president for academic affairs at York College, City University of New York in 1994–98. In 1988–94, he was dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the State University of New York-Cortland. Prior to that, he was chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Cortland, 1983–88. In 1981–82 and 1983–88, he served as the Environmental Science Program coordinator.

Keen joined the Cortland faculty in 1976 and was named a full professor in 1986. He also was a visiting research associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Florida State University.

Keen earned his Ph.D. in ecology from Kent State University and his master’s in biology from Eastern Kentucky University. He holds a B.S. in biology and secondary teaching certificate from Pikeville College.

He attended a 1996 Harvard University Graduate School of Education higher education seminar, and received a Fulbright Fellowship in 1993 for the U.S.-German International Education Program for Administrators.

Keen has had administrative projects funded by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. His academic research projects have received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Research Foundation of the State University of New York, and Sigma Xi, The Research Society.

Mestas

Mestas has served as NEH deputy chairman since 1994. He is the chief operational officer, managing program and administrative divisions, as well as the agency’s budget and expenditure of agency funds. He represents the NEH on matters concerning policy, planning, legislation and regulation, and funding with other government bodies, institutions of higher education, humanities organizations, corporations and foundations.

In 1992–94, Mestas was vice provost and dean of students at Portland State University and an associate professor of foreign languages and literatures. In 1991–92, he directed Retention Services and Educational Equity Programs at California State University (CSU), Long Beach. In 1991–94, he was a faculty member of the Center for Leadership Development of the American Council on Education (ACE), where he had been a visiting associate in 1990. In 1989, Mestas was named an ACE/Pew Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Research on Higher Education.

He was director of Educational Access Services at CSU in 1986–89, and directed the Educational Opportunity Program and was associate director of the Student Development Programs there in 1983–86. Mestas was director of the Upward Bound Program at San Jose State University in 1976–82. He chaired the Puerto Rican Studies Program at the State University of New York-Stony Brook in 1974–76.

Mestas is on the editorial boards of the National Council of Educational Opportunity Associations Journal and La Escalera (a Puerto Rican socio-political journal). He edited Guajana, a literary review, in 1967–69.

Miller

Miller has been a professor and dean of the FSU College of Education since 1993. Prior to that, he was professor and dean of education at Georgia Southern University (GSU) in 1986–1993. In 1980–86, Miller was professor and associate dean at Wichita State University having joined the faculty in 1974. He was a program director from 1978–80.

He holds a Ph.D. in elementary education from Purdue University, a master’s in education from Northern Illinois University, and a B.A. 1in journalism from Ohio University.

Miller has presented 50 refereed papers at national and international meetings of 16 academic societies, and has published articles in national and international journals.

He also has authored 10 book chapters, two major monographs, three books and three series of electronic and print media instructional materials.

Miller has written and served as principal investigator on 19 research and training proposals funded for a total of $3.3 million.

He has served on the board of directors of private corporations and public non-profit organizations as well as the Florida Multicultural Education Task Force and the Florida Governor’s Equaling Educational Opportunity Committee. He is credited with increasing the percentage of under represented groups on the faculty of Georgia Southern University’s College of Education by 300 percent for African-Americans, 100 percent for Hispanics and 17 percent for women.

Miller formulated the off-campus course delivery program and distance learning project at Wichita State University, and has developed distance learning proposals to link multiple institutions to the State University System of Florida and the 28 Florida community colleges and to other articulated degree programs.

Miller also has implemented a technology curriculum infusion plan at FSU that includes faculty release time for course development and faculty mentoring by colleagues. At FSU, Miller has implemented new college bylaws and a new faculty governance system and worked with faculty to reorganize the departmental structure and employ new leadership models at GSU.

Schmoll

Schmoll holds a B.A. in physical therapy and a master’s in human development and relationships from Wayne State University, and a Ph.D. from the Administration and Higher Education Program of Adult and Continuing Education at Michigan State University. She is a registered physical therapist.

Prior to joining Flint in 1984 as assistant professor in physical therapy, Schmoll held adjunct clinical visiting lecturer appointments at Wayne State, the U-M, Ohio State and Oakland universities.

She was appointed associate professor in 1988 and professor in 1995. Schmoll served as acting director of the Flint Physical Therapy Program in 1986–87 and director of the Physical Therapy Department in 1988–93. She also was interim director of graduate and special programs in 1993–96 and was named dean in January 1996. Schmoll has been a member of a number of committees, task forces, and organizations at Flint.

Her research has appeared in a dozen refereed publications and book chapters, and she has served as a consultant to numerous organizations. She was a fellow of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the Kellogg Foundation, Academic Leadership Academy in 1991–93 and a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Schmoll has served on the editorial boards of a number of publications, including Physiotherapy Theory and Practice: An International Journal of Physical Therapy; Physical Therapy; Options, a publication of the Michigan Association for Adult and Continuing Education; and the Journal of Physical Therapy Education. She also was guest editor for a special issue of the Journal of Physical Therapy Education that focused on educational leadership.