Search for the New Dean of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance

To:USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance Faculty, Staff, and Students
From:Charles F. Zukoski
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Date:September 17, 2021
Subject:  Search for the New Dean of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance

I am pleased to announce that we have appointed a search committee to identify and recruit the next dean to lead the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. The search committee will be co-chaired by Pedro Noguera, Dean, Rossier School of Education, and Elizabeth Graddy, Executive Vice Provost. The committee roster follows this memo.

This committee is assembled to help us select the best candidate for the exceptional Kaufman School of Dance. The school is a world leader in performing arts education through a robust and rigorous dance curriculum. Its visionary programs were created by professional faculty and staff made up of renowned teachers and choreographers. Their dedication to academic and artistic excellence has made the school a destination for dancers around the globe. Notably, USC Kaufman alumni have gone on to careers on Broadway and in leading dance companies and, in turn, have actively advanced and transformed the international dance community.

As the dean search moves forward, we will follow the same procedures that have been observed in other dean searches. The committee will review nominations, conduct interviews, and advise me on finalists. Those who are asked to interview the final candidates will be invited to send their comments regarding the strengths and possible weaknesses of these candidates to me directly and confidentially.

Selection of candidates and narrowing of the pool will be done by the search committee. I will also seek advice of a group composed of non-faculty USC Kaufman stakeholders.

To assist us in this important search, we have engaged the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller and their consultants David Bellshaw and Courtney Wilk-Mandel. We will follow up with additional information about how you can provide your nominations and input and we will keep you informed of progress. You can also follow updates at our dean search website at https://deansearch.usc.edu/ .

Thank you for your enthusiastic engagement and valued collaboration in support of the USC Kaufman School of Dance as we work together to find our next stellar leader who will advance academic excellence for an ever-changing global landscape.

cc:Pedro Noguera
Elizabeth Graddy