Effective this summer, Professor of English Stephen Smith will serve as Dean of Faculty, replacing Professor of Chemistry Mark Nussbaum, who has held the position for three years. Smith will serve for at least two years.
“I’m honored to be chosen, and I hope to learn from the great previous deans,” Smith said. “I’m succeeding Mark Nussbaum, and I hope to continue the tradition of good chemistry.”
Provost David Whalen announced Smith’s appointment via an all-school email last Thursday, March 26, the day after Smith accepted the position. The email detailed Smith’s credentials, which include a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, and a Ph.D. in literature and philosophic studies from the University of Dallas, with an emphasis on Thomas More and William Shakespeare. Whalen was involved in the search and hiring of Smith in 2001.
Besides Smith’s credentials as a beloved professor and accomplished scholar, his personal and leadership skills make him an ideal candidate, Whalen said.
“There are many faculty who are equipped to be excellent deans,” he said. “It’s true that it’s demanding and exacting and requires a comparatively rare set of talents, and in fact, the college really has been blessed in having quite a few who combine those virtues and strengths.”
Whalen described a good dean as possessing good overall judgment, a strong and deep sense of the protocols of the academic profession, a keen sense of fairness and justice, a deep understanding of the mission of the college, and the ability to keep a calm head under pressure or crisis.
“Steve has all of these qualities,” Whalen added.
Assistant Professor of English Dwight Lindley was a student of Smith’s at Hillsdale. He then followed in his footsteps at the University of Dallas, after following Smith’s reccomendation. Smith was part of the committee that hired Lindley in 2011. The two have become good friends and colleagues, and even attend St. Anthony’s Catholic Church together.
“He’s one of the few who is friends with everyone,” Lindley said. “It takes a real gift to have friendships across multiple departments. He doesn’t make enemies. For many of us, it just happens.”
Associate Professor of English Justin Jackson added, “He shouldn’t be so nice, charitable, and prudent, or he wouldn’t have been stuck with the job.”
The other aspect of Smith’s character that Lindley and Jackson find crucial to the position is his judgment.
“He is really wise about making important choices,” Lindley said. “As the dean of faculty, he’ll be helping to guide us through the implementation of core curriculum changes coming in the next few years. He’ll help guide faculty meetings to guide these things through, and he will be on the hiring committee for the next few years.”
“He thinks things through, and he thinks charitably about all parties involved, which is important for the dean of faculty,” Jackson said. “His first gesture is always to be charitable.”
As dean, Smith will lead faculty meetings and sit on the hiring committees for every department. In the faculty searches, which includes interviewing applicants from New York to California, unincorporated candidates will be evaluated by Smith, who will deem them worthy or not of Hillsdale College incorporation.
“I’ve done searches the entire time I’ve been here,” Smith said.
“I think it’s a crucial part of our future. Everyone knows the excitement of making a great hire. I see it as a position of service and help. It’s a new challenge — one I’m certainly excited to undertake.”
