Search begins for new college masters for Hanszen, Lovett

By Cindy Dinh     9/25/08 7:00pm

Although this school year is far from over, some colleges are already preparing for next year. Since this year marks the end of their masters' five-year terms, Lovett and Hanszen Colleges are beginning their search for new college masters this fall.Wes and Barbara Morris, the Hanszen masters, and Bernard and Carolyn Aresu, the Lovett Masters, will be leaving their positions in May.

Candidates must be tenured professors who are willing to live on campus and serve as college master for the 2009-'14 academic years.

Both Ted Wieber, chair of the Hanszen Master Search Committee, and Hanszen President Abbie Ryan said their committee is looking for someone who will be involved in everyday campus life.

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"I think visible presence is very important, just simply being at lunch every day, going to games on the weekends and going to performances," Ryan, a senior, said.

Ryan said active participation and support for student activities are the top qualities the committee is looking for.

"Frankly, there are 350 kids in the college," Ryan said. "[The masters] can't know everyone's names and get really involved in their lives. But by being there, you know that if you ever do need something, you know they'll be willing to help you out."

Some other considerations include whether the potential college master has a spouse or a family with children since they will also live on campus.

Lauren Reyes, chair of the Lovett Master Search Committee, said they were looking for a candidate who would have someone else to help them with the job.

"[College masters] tend to be a couple," Reyes, a Lovett sophomore, said. "They don't necessarily have to be married, but it is a two-person job."

Hanszen and Lovett have already set up their master search committees. They have chosen 7-8 students from across the board of academic years, resident associates, and are still looking for a faculty associate and a master from another college. It has been customary for outgoing masters not to be involved in the selection process.

Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman is in the process of asking faculty associates to join the committee and both colleges are still searching for a master from another college. Reyes said Wiess College master Mike Gustin is a likely candidate to complete the Lovett committee.

Both master search committees are waiting for administrative action before commencing their new master search. Within the coming weeks, a reception hosted by President David Leebron will formally announce Hanszen and Lovett masters' term limit and allow the colleges to begin accepting applicants for the position.

Ryan said the committee could not officially begin the search until after this ceremony.

"Until then we can't really start accepting applications," Ryan said. "So we're doing verbal recruiting, talking to students at Hanszen to gauge interest on who they think will be good candidates."

Wieber said the entire process of selecting a candidate should last about six weeks and conclude around Thanksgiving break.

"It is a short but frenzied process," Wieber said.

The committees will begin the process by accepting applications and showcasing the college's lifestyle to the candidates.

Ryan said this would be the only time outgoing masters would be involved in the process.

"[The Masters] have definitely offered to open up their house so applicants can look around and ask questions on what it's like to be a master," Ryan said.

After the window for applications closes, the next two weeks will be spent interviewing key candidates. The last two weeks will be spent narrowing the field to two candidates to submit to Leebron, who will interview each of them.

Reyes said the committee chair and college president will be invited to give a presentation with their college's recommendation and thoughts on each of the two candidates.

"We'll be giving a formal presentation to Leebron in an unbiased way," Reyes said.

Ultimately, Ryan said the final decision rests with Leebron.

"President Leebron officially hires the masters," Ryan said. We can't do it ourselves, but we can give him our recommendations."

Wieber, a senior, said participating in the search gave him an opportunity to shape Hanszen's future.

"We see this as a chance to set a course for Hanszen, for charting the next half decade," he said.

Reyes said the decision should mainly be based on the students' input since college masters will be with the college for the next five years.

The committee has considered student input via individual name submissions to members of the committee and from students who applied for the master search committee, Wieber said.

"The [student search committee] application had questions asking students what they look for in a master and what they like about the current masters," he said.

The outgoing Lovett masters are Bernard Aresu, a professor in French Studies, and his wife Carolyn Aresu, who is staff member in the Electrical and Computational Engineering department.

Reyes said her committee was looking for someone who appreciated Lovett.

"We're don't want to try to replace them, but we want to find someone who will enjoy the Lovett culture," Reyes said.

Outgoing Hanszen masters Morris, a professor in English, and his wife Barbara may be leaving their home on campus, but are not necessarily disappearing from the college life.

Ryan said she hoped the outgoing masters would continue to be involved in Hanszen life.

"We definitely expect them to be associates afterwards," Ryan said. "Wes will probably continue being divisional advisor like he is now."

Wieber said Hanszen has a tradition of former masters coming back to participate in college activities.

"Right now we have Dennis Huston, Richard Smith and Klaus Weissenberger who are all former masters and almost on a weekly basis are active in the colleges," Wieber said. "We expect Wes and Barbara to follow in their footsteps."

Ryan said she expected to see the Hanszen masters in the future, especially since they had a long history with the college. All the Morrises' sons who went to Rice lived at Hanszen.

"They'll be sorely missed, but they'll definitely be around a lot," Ryan said.

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