In Focus
Temporary deans in place while TCNJ searches for full-time provost
Two schools at the College are under the direction of interim deans, and a third is being led by a committee of four department chairs, while the search for a full-time provost is underway.
Last summer, Dean of the Library Taras Pavlovsky agreed to serve in the additional capacity of interim dean of the newly renamed School of the Arts and Communication, when former dean Jim Lentini left to accept a position at Miami University in Ohio.
Taras Pavlovsky
Pavlovsky has been at TCNJ since 1995. Prior to becoming dean of the library, he served as the music and media librarian. He has a master ’s degree in musicology from Rutgers University and has twice chaired search committees for the school ’s dean’s position.
Pavlovsky has extensive performance experience as a vocalist and instrumentalist, including appearances at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He plays a variety of folk instruments and is a lyric baritone. He has appeared as a conductor at the Garden State Arts Center and the Princeton University Chapel, among other venues.
In his new role, Pavlovsky has already helped facilitate the move of the Department of Communication Studies to the newly renamed school. In addition, he is “working with the various departments to finalize new programs already under development [and] working with the staff in the development office to continue to seek out scholarship funds for our students. ”
As for the time demands of serving as both dean of the library and dean of the School of the Arts and Communication, Pavlovsky said, “Without a doubt, it is the most challenging role I’ve had at TCNJ.”
Jack Kirnan
Jack Kirnan has been leading the School of Business since the spring 2007 semester, when he took over for Emmanuel Osagie, who accepted the chancellor ’s position at Penn State Fayette’s Eberly Campus. Prior to his appointment, Kirnan taught at the College as an adjunct professor and managed the MBA programs for Rutgers Business School.
Before working at Rutgers, Kirnan was employed at Merrill Lynch, Kidder Peabody, and Salomon Smith Barney. During that time, he was one of Wall Street ’s leading financial analysts, providing research coverage of the global automotive industry and earning widespread recognition from Greenwich Research Associates and in Institutional Investor Magazine and the The Wall Street Journal Survey of Analyst Stock-Picking and Earnings Accuracy.
Following an almost 15-year career as an automotive expert, Kirnan joined Credit Suisse First Boston in 1998 as its head of equity research and also spent time at Charles Schwab as the head of product marketing in its institutional equity unit.
Kirnan has a BA in economics and political science from Seton Hall University and an MA and PhD in economics from Fordham University. As interim dean at TCNJ, he has established stronger ties with the more than 7,000 School of Business alumni by initiating additional programs and events, expanding alumni membership on the School of Business Advisory Board, and refocusing the efforts of the school ’s alumni chapter.
After seven years of service as the dean of the School of Engineering, George Facas resigned his post to return to teaching full time. The four department chairs are working collaboratively as a leadership team to guide the School of Engineering until the dean ’s position is filled.
The national searches for full-time deans for these schools will begin in earnest once a full-time provost is hired. This past summer, TCNJ selected Academic Search, Inc., an executive search firm that specializes in recruiting senior administrators in higher education, to work with the College’s search committee to finalize a job description for the provost’s position and conduct a national search. The goal is to have someone in place by summer 2008.
Tony Marchetti ’96, ’02
National acclaim for TCNJ’s health and exercise science chair
Professor Jay Hoffman, chair of the Department of Health and Exercise Science, was named the 2007 National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) William J. Kraemer Outstanding Sports Scientist this past summer, in recognition of his research achievements in the field of exercise science. Hoffman was nominated by past winners of the award.
Jay Hoffman
As criteria for his award, Hoffman demonstrated an extensive history of research, as well as contributions to the association. Along with his “excellent” team of colleagues, including TCNJ health and exercise science professors Jie Kang, Avery Faigenbaum, and Nicholas Ratamess, Hoffman has extensively studied sports supplementation, exercise endocrinology, and training pyridines. His latest research focuses on the endocrine changes in the body resulting from a creatine and beta-alanine supplement pairing as it relates to sports conditioning.
Hoffman, who has been at the College since 2000, received his BS from St. John’s University, his MS from CUNY Queens College, and his PhD from the University of Connecticut. In 2003, he received the Neay School of Education Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Connecticut. He has had over 60 scientific publications published in peer-reviewed journals and made over 90 scientific presentations at national and international meetings since 1989.
NSCA is the largest organization for sports science in the world, with a membership of about 30,000. Hoffman serves on the organization ’s board of directors and is also its vice president.
Madeline M. Patrick ’10
Culture and society dean chosen to lead national dean’s council
Susan Albertine, dean of the School of Culture and Society, was installed as president-elect of the national Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) this November. She will serve a three-year term, serving as president-elect this academic year, president next year, and past-president in year three. Founded in 1965, CCAS is a national association of deans whose purpose is to sustain the arts and sciences as a leading influence in American higher education. CCAS fosters leadership, connects deans with each other, provides professional development, serves as a forum for discussing issues in higher education, and advocates for liberal learning.
As a CCAS board member, Albertine has focused this past year on the future of public health education, and she will incorporate that project into her work as president. Joining with other organizations, she hopes to spearhead “a national effort to bring deans of the many health professions together with arts and sciences deans to prompt faculty …to engage questions that address human health and environmental sustainability.”
Susan Albertine
“This project is not primarily about creating public health professionals, although that would be a great outcome, ” Albertine said. “It is about educating students to think socially, not just individualistically, to have some concept of population science and global population studies, and to apply that integrative knowledge within their own disciplines. ”
Discussions about infusing the issues of public health into TCNJ’s curriculum have already started on campus. “We need to educate our students to become citizens in a very challenging world,” Albertine said. “We’re not going to be able to address human health and environmental sustainability in the decades ahead unless we prepare future citizens in a much more comprehensive way.”
Tony Marchetti ’96, ’02
