Larry Roper named interim dean of CLA
Roper to serve as interim dean, vice provost of student affairs
Aleks Cherednichenko
Issue date: 5/30/07 Section: News
As announced on Friday, Larry Roper, the vice provost for student affairs at Oregon State, has been named interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts by Sabah Randhawa, provost and executive vice president of the university.
"It was ultimately my decision," Randhawa said. The decision to appoint Roper was made without consultation with any deans or department chairs in the College of Liberal Arts. As of July, Roper will be splitting time between his two positions.
"Seventy percent of Larry's time will be spent with the college of liberal arts, and 30 percent with student affairs," Randhawa said.
"Student affairs has worked hard to develop a shared leadership model," Roper said regarding the student affairs organization.
"My role will be to talk with folks who are in the college of liberal arts and to figure out what they need," Roper said.
The interim dean's focus within the college will be on leadership and strategic issues. One major task awaiting Roper will be to bring the diverse groups of the College of Liberal Arts together.
"In the next few years we are going to focus more on the college's distinction and excellence," Randhawa said. He noted that previously the College of Liberal Arts has not been able to identify a unifying goal. In the future, Randhawa hopes to build additional faculty capacity, further develop the college's graduate programs and recruit faculty that would really drive the process.
With such hopes, however, the question of funding comes to mind. The search for a permanent dean for the College of Liberal Arts was suspended by Randhawa as a result of the 2005-2006 budget reallocation decision. Roper's salary as an interim dean will be substantially less than that of a permanent dean. In addition, the college's capital campaign, set to launch in October 2007, hopes to bring in an additional $15 to $20 million in private funds to its budget.
Some individuals in the college were surprised by the provost's decision to hire Roper. Michael Oriard, associate dean of the CLA, thought that Randhawa would hire someone within the college itself for the interim position.
"Randhawa believed that I had some of the leadership skills that they needed for this job," Roper said. "Our ultimate goal is to create a strong university."
After his service as an interim dean, Roper intends to return as the full-time vice provost of the student affairs. "That's the job I want," Roper said.
"It was ultimately my decision," Randhawa said. The decision to appoint Roper was made without consultation with any deans or department chairs in the College of Liberal Arts. As of July, Roper will be splitting time between his two positions.
"Seventy percent of Larry's time will be spent with the college of liberal arts, and 30 percent with student affairs," Randhawa said.
"Student affairs has worked hard to develop a shared leadership model," Roper said regarding the student affairs organization.
"My role will be to talk with folks who are in the college of liberal arts and to figure out what they need," Roper said.
The interim dean's focus within the college will be on leadership and strategic issues. One major task awaiting Roper will be to bring the diverse groups of the College of Liberal Arts together.
"In the next few years we are going to focus more on the college's distinction and excellence," Randhawa said. He noted that previously the College of Liberal Arts has not been able to identify a unifying goal. In the future, Randhawa hopes to build additional faculty capacity, further develop the college's graduate programs and recruit faculty that would really drive the process.
With such hopes, however, the question of funding comes to mind. The search for a permanent dean for the College of Liberal Arts was suspended by Randhawa as a result of the 2005-2006 budget reallocation decision. Roper's salary as an interim dean will be substantially less than that of a permanent dean. In addition, the college's capital campaign, set to launch in October 2007, hopes to bring in an additional $15 to $20 million in private funds to its budget.
Some individuals in the college were surprised by the provost's decision to hire Roper. Michael Oriard, associate dean of the CLA, thought that Randhawa would hire someone within the college itself for the interim position.
"Randhawa believed that I had some of the leadership skills that they needed for this job," Roper said. "Our ultimate goal is to create a strong university."
After his service as an interim dean, Roper intends to return as the full-time vice provost of the student affairs. "That's the job I want," Roper said.
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