SEMO CONTINUES SEARCH FOR NEW EDUCATION DEAN

Lenore Bierbaum had planned to retire last summer. But as Christmas approaches, she still finds herself employed as the dean of the College of Education at Southeast Missouri State University.

Her retirement has been put on hold while the university continues its more-than-year-long search for a new dean. The school is also looking for a new dean for the College of Health and Human Services as Robert Boissoneau has indicated he is stepping down at the end of the academic year.

Bierbaum, who has been at Southeast for 29 years, had planned to move to St. Louis last summer and assist with the university's teacher education program at Jefferson College in Hillsboro. But the move was delayed when Southeast was unable to line up a new dean.

"I sold my house too fast," said Bierbaum, who has spent the last several months living in an apartment.

She said Tuesday that she doesn't mind the delay. Bierbaum, who has served as dean since 1988, said there's no firm timetable for her departure, but she expects to step down by May or June at the latest.

"We just left it very loose," she said of her continuing tenure as dean. But she added, "I do tell them, `Well, really we must get on with this.'"

Bierbaum said she still plans to work on a part-time basis with Southeast's program at Jefferson College. The cooperative venture allows Jefferson College students, pursuing careers as elementary school teachers, to take education classes at Hillsboro.

Southeast initially had 49 applicants for the dean's position. That list was narrowed to four finalists, but in the end no one was hired.

A second search then commenced, which netted 53 applicants, some of them carryovers from the first search process, said Provost Charles Kupchella.

"We kind of reopened the search and revved it up again," he said.

"We are in the active search mode right now," Kupchella said Tuesday.

The list has been narrowed to about eight semi-finalists. Kupchella said a decision will be made early next year on a final list of candidates to be interviewed.

"If we can get the folks in during January and the early part of February, we could conceivably try to negotiate a commitment or offer sometime in February or early March," Kupchella said.

"We thought we might be able to have someone as early as January, but things never go as fast as you hope."

The provost said such national searches are often lengthy, particularly when a university is seeking to hire from a pool of high-caliber candidates.

"The people who we are going after have a lot of other alternatives (to accepting a job at Southeast)," he pointed out.

Kupchella said he's not worried about the fact that the university has still not hired a new dean for the College of Education.

"We are not really in any kind of panic," the provost said. "Typically, it takes a year from the time the search is opened until someone is in that position."

He added that Bierbaum has been "very gracious to stay on and complete this year."

In addition to the search for Bierbaum's replacement, Kupchella is also involved in the search for a new dean for the College of Health and Human Services. The university began advertising the position about a week and a half ago.

Although Boissoneau is stepping down as dean -- a position he has held since July 1989 -- he may remain employed as a faculty member with Southeast, Kupchella said.

The provost said that in today's world, administrators come and go more quickly.

Some are on an administrative fast-track to bigger and better positions, while others simply become worn out, he said.