Moreno to replace Kalthoff as dean of faculty

Two-year position chosen from faculty nominations

By: Jillian Melchior

Posted: 4/23/09

Paul Moreno, associate professor of history, will replace Hillsdale College's longest-serving dean of faculty, Mark Kalthoff, on June 30.

"Dr. Kalthoff has been a superb dean of faculty, ever alert to the concerns and needs of the community and to the demands of the college mission," Provost Bob Blackstock said in an e-mail. "He is a master of organization, and a remarkable repository of institutional history."

The dean of faculty position combines professorial duties with administrative ones.

Jim Stephens, philosophy professor and a former dean of faculty, said the biggest issue Moreno will likely deal with will be the budget cuts inflicted by the bad economy.

Meanwhile, the switch will allow Kalthoff to take his overdue sabbatical - he hasn't taken one in nine years, he said.

This year's selection

Blackstock said administrators collected nominations from professors for the position in March. He then reviewed the names with President Larry Arnn, looking for someone while also considering the existing and future needs of the college. He said they announced Moreno's selection in April.

Moreno could not be reached this week by phone, e-mail or office visits to comment.

The dean of faculty's role

The dean of faculty position was created in 1996. Faculty members submit nominations to administrators, who then appoint a dean of faculty. Typically, 15-20 professors are nominated, Blackstock said.

Kalthoff said the most frequently nominated professors receive the most extensive consideration from administration.

The dean of faculty has many responsibilities, Kalthoff said. The dean spends half the time teaching, half the time working with senior administration.

Stephens described the position as an ombudsman, adding the dean is not involved in faculty evaluations and has no authority over administration or faculty.

"The position was created as it is in the premise that when the exercise of authority and the facility of communication are vested in the same individual, communication suffers," Stephens said.

The dean of faculty serves as a go-between for administration, faculty and students. Nevertheless, students are not involved in the selection of the dean of faculty.

Stephens said although students should probably care more about the selection of the dean of faculty, he cannot recall anyone expressing concern about students' exclusion from the selection process.

"At least by the duties set out by the position, the dean of faculty should be someone with whom students can work comfortably," he said.

Forecast for Moreno's two-year term

The position has changed little over the years, Stephens said, but Moreno's biggest concern will be sorting through the implications of the economy on the college's finances. Last fall, the college's endowment took a 20 percent hit. Departments were asked this spring to cut 10-15 percent of their budgets.

"It's possible - I shan't say likely - that we'll need to make other reductions," Stephens said, "and that will hurt someone inevitably. The dean of faculty's business will include making sure that the communication between administration and faculty for such matters is just as good as it can be."

Kalthoff's years in service

The dean of faculty normally serves one two-year term, Kalthoff explained, but the college's accreditation two years ago and last year's examinations of the calendar and the core curriculum kept him on for a total of four years.

"It just made sense not to have a transition in administration and the time," Kalthoff said. "But I've really done this longer than I should have. In the normal course of things, it's time for me to step down. But don't compare me to FDR."

Professors normally get sabbaticals every seven years, but because of the extension of Kalthoff's term as dean of faculty, he has not had one since 2000.

Kalthoff says he will spend his sabbatical in part working on a book about Calvin Coolidge, whom he considers one of the most under-rated U.S. presidents.

Blackstock said: "Dr. Kalthoff has been not only our longest-serving dean of faculty but [also] our tallest. It has been a pleasure and an honor to work with him."