There will be new deans in three different departments this academic year. CWU came into the school year looking to hire a new Dean of Business, Dean of Student Success and Dean of the Library. While the Dean of Student Success search is nearing its end, the school hired the new Dean of Library earlier this month. The new Dean of Business was hired earlier last week.

Candidates for dean positions have to go through an extensive application process. Those who make it into the final round of the interview process come to the school and give presentations on campus. This gives students an opportunity to ask candidates questions before they potentially get hired.

There is a hiring committee that reviews dean applicants and helps with the hiring process. CWU Provost, Vice President for Academic and Student Life, and head of the search committee Katherine P. Frank explained what students should expect from the deans.

“A commitment to student success,” Frank said. “I have no doubt either one of these individuals are fully committed to student success. They like the mission of the institution, they believe in what we do as a comprehensive university and they put students first.”

Rebecca L. Lubas will be the new Dean of Library Services starting Feb. 1. Lubas spent the last four years as an Associate Dean of the Library at The Claremont Colleges in California. Prior to The Claremont Colleges, Lubas worked at the University of New Mexico and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology previously.

In a newsletter sent out by CWU once they hired her, Lubas talked about why she wanted to come and work here.

“I’m excited to join CWU,” Lubas said. “The energy in the library and care for the CWU community shined through all my encounters during my visit. I’m looking forward to working with the library and CWU leadership to provide ever greater services for our students.”

On Nov. 14, CWU announced their new Dean of Business as

Jeffrey L. Stinson. Stinson will take over the position from the interim dean Richard Highfield on Jan. 1.

Stinson has been at CWU the last 11 years in multiple positions including director of the Northwest Center for Sports Business and chair of the Department of Management in the College of Business. Stinson will step into a dean position at the school, an area he already has a vast knowledge on, which should help him make a smooth transition into his new position.

Stinson is excited to start his new job as the dean and give back to the CWU students. He believes that CWU is a wonderful place because of how they treat their business students.

“I think that this is a very special place,” Stinson said. “I have never worked someplace that is as focused on student success and student success in a well-rounded sense (inside and outside of the classroom). Everything is at its core is about our students.”

Both Lubas and Stinson will begin their new jobs as deans of their respective colleges next quarter. The new dean of Student Success search is wrapping up, and an announcement of who will be hired should come in early 2019.