Western Kentucky University working to fill three of five dean positions

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Another dean has stepped down from their position at Western Kentucky University, now leaving three of the five dean positions at the university with only an interim leader.

“That’s not necessarily unusual,” said Bob Skipper, Media Relations Director for WKU. “Change in higher education administration is more fluid that it used to be. People just don’t stay in those leadership positions for a long time like they used to.”

Yesterday, Dr. Larry Snyder resigned as Dean of the Potter College of Arts and Letters.

“He has elected to return to teaching. We appreciate the time Dr. Snyder spent working in the dean’s office,” Skipper said. “He had been there for quite awhile. Other than that, any discussion is a personnel matter and we can’t do that.”

With Snyder’s resignation, there are now three colleges that have an interim dean serving the university – the Potter College of Arts and Letters, Gordon Ford College of Business, and College of Health and Human Services.

Skipper said the university is getting close to filling the positions for the latter two schools, but they want to ensure that they hire the right applicants for these positions.

“It’s very important,” he added. “They are responsible for working with the administration and the faculty to make sure that students are getting the proper attention and care and instruction that they need, and make sure the university is staying within its means and making the most of what we have.”

The university has gone through a process like this before, but regardless, they address these situations with the same mindset every time.

“I don’t know that it’s any easier or any harder, but it’s a task that has to be taken very seriously because you do want to get the right person in those positions,” Skipper said.