Aldon Morris's appointment as interim dean of Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences in September 2007 came with little fanfare or media attention.
Morris, who was serving as the associate dean for faculty affairs, replaced Daniel Linzer when the former Weinberg dean was named university provost.
A national search for a permanent dean is under way, and university officials said it is not unusual for a search to take this long.
When Eric Sundquist, Linzer's predecessor as dean, announced his resignation, it took a year to name Linzer as his replacement. Because Sundquist announced his resignation almost 18 months in advance, no interim dean was necessary.
Morris, who would not say whether or not he had applied for the position, said a name would be announced soon.
In the meantime, his job is largely concerned with managing the curriculum and the faculty to improve the quality of student life.
"I worry a lot about you guys," said Morris, who has been at Northwestern since 1988. "I want to make sure that you have a very interesting, rigorous and stimulating curriculum, wonderful professors, good study abroad experiences."
The past year, Weinberg has paid more attention to international issues, as Morris noted efforts to expand both the Program on African Studies and continue to work on creating a Latino Studies Program.
While the program had existed for a long time, it did not have a major presence in the undergraduate community, said David Schoenbrun , director of undergraduate studies for the Program of African Studies.
"It's (currently) practically organized to generate externally-funded grant proposals," Schoenbrun said. "What Dean Morris is trying to do is to bring the undergraduates more centrally into the activities."
While Linzer had given support to the program, it was Morris who made more of a difference. Morris named Schoenbrun the first director of undergraduate studies for the program and then hired additional faculty members to teach African Languages.
2008 Woodie Awards
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