Board of Trustees makes CAS and SED dean appointments permanent

The Boston University Board of Trustees voted to make Jeffrey Henderson and Douglas Sears permanent deans of the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Education, respectively, at their Jan. 9 meeting, elevating their status from deans ad-interim.

Henderson was appointed CAS dean ad-interim in July of 2002. Sears was given the same title for SED in Sept. 2001. Sears and Henderson said neither of their roles would really change as a result of the title change.

‘We are all interim in positions like these,’ Sears said. ‘We all serve in a contingent way. There are no guarantees for deans.’

Henderson said only the perception of his position would be affected.

‘Removal of my interim status not only represents the confidence of the college and university in my deanship, but also signals my own strong commitment to the role,’ Henderson said.

Henderson said his permanent status would also help accomplish more long-term goals for CAS and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences because ‘an interim leader can only afford interim goals.’ Included in these long-term goals is building the respect of students, alumni and the world toward CAS, he said.

‘We’re the flagship school of a great university, pursuing cutting-edge research and, at the same time, offering our students a cutting-edge liberal arts education,’ he said. ‘That’s a good base for building [CAS and GRS] spirit, alumni pride and the world’s respect.’

Henderson was chairman of the classical studies department of CAS before succeeding current BU provost Dennis Berkey as dean in 2002.

According to BU spokesman Kevin Carleton, the search for new deans of CAS and SED were relaxed when Henderson and Sears stepped in. He said it is normal for a dean ad interim to become permanent.

Before taking on the post of interim dean of SED in 2001, Sears served as superintendent of Chelsea Public Schools, which BU has helped manage since 1989, for five years. Prior to that, he was Assistant to the President under now-Chancellor John Silber. Sears also spent time as a United States Foreign Service officer before coming to Boston University in 1988.

According to Sears, his experience as superintendent of Chelsea Schools adds much his role as SED dean.

As dean, he said his role is to prepare teachers for the classroom, both through method and, most importantly, command of subject matter.

‘You can’t teach something you don’t know,’ he said.

In addition to making new teachers fully aware of their responsibilities in the classroom, Sears said he is working to maintain and increase admission standards.

‘I’m here to protect standards and raise them,’ he said.