Dean Search Update

Search committee for new CAFNR dean in place this month, candidate finalists likely to be on campus in spring

Written by · October 12, 2016

Vice Chancellor and Dean Tom Payne often speaks of the “CAFNR family” in the way faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources work together for the greater good of all.

In May Payne announced there will soon be another branch of this family tree, as he will retire effective end of December 2016. He will have served the College and the University for 18 years at the time of his retirement.

The Mizzou Ag Alumni Association executive team recently met with Provost Garnett Stokes to learn more about the upcoming search for the new Vice Chancellor and Dean, to offer their support in the search, and to encourage alumni involvement in the process.

There are several steps to the search process currently underway, according to Ag Alumni Association Board of Directors President Kristen Marshall. The Provost has selected the executive search firm that will be responsible for gathering input regarding the candidate profile and recruiting the pool of candidates for consideration. A call for nominations for the search committee closed on Sept. 13; the committee is expected to be in place in early October. The search committee will review application materials submitted by potential candidates identified by the search firm, and select candidates for preliminary interviews. Provost Stokes will invite finalists to campus for tours, meetings and public forums, likely in the spring of 2017. More information on these steps will be shared as the process unfolds.

CAFNR alumni and friends have an opportunity to be part of the search process and Marshall said the executive team hopes you will take advantage of that. Nominate qualified individuals for the dean position by submitting their name and contact information to the search firm at mbaker@baasearch.com.  Everyone is also invited to participate in the open forums that will be held on campus when the finalists are announced, and to provide feedback after those events.

A search of this nature will be national in scope and will take time to complete to make certain the best candidate to lead our College into the future is identified, Marshall said. Check the MU Leadership Position Status page to get a real-time look at the status of the search process at any given point.

“This is an exciting time for CAFNR as we look to our future,” Marshall said. “Please join me and the entire Ag Alumni Association executive team in congratulating Vice Chancellor and Dean Payne, and thanking him for his tireless service to CAFNR and Mizzou.”