Dean Search
Updated 5:00 p.m. Feb 18, 2026
This page is designed to provide members of the U of A community with up-to-date information regarding current dean searches, including details about search firms, lists of search committee members, and the current status of the searches. Updates will be provided as the search processes advance.
Active Dean Searches
James E. Rogers College of Law
Search Firm: WittKieffer - Job Posting
Search Status: Conducting Campus Interviews
Candidate Campus Forums
You are invited to attend the campus forums for each candidate, during which the finalist will deliver a brief presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. The forums will be held both in person and via Zoom from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. and are open to faculty, staff, and students.
Candidate A: Tuesday, Feb. 24
Candidate B: Friday, Feb. 27
Candidate C: Tuesday, Mar. 3
Candidate D: Friday, Mar. 6
Tentative Campus Visit dates
| Candidate A | February 23-24, 2026 | Candidate Feedback Survey |
| Candidate B | February 26-27, 2026 | Candidate Feedback Survey |
| Candidate C | March 2-3, 2026 | |
| Candidate D | March 5-6, 2026 |
Committee Chair
Lori Poloni-Staudinger, Dean, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Committee Members
1. Arjun Puri, third-year law student
2. Damon Clark, second-year law student
3. David F. Levi, James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean Emeritus of Law, Duke Law School
4. Diana Newmark, Associate Clinical Professor of Law; Director, Education Advocacy Clinic; Distinguished Public Service Scholar
5. Heather Whiteman Runs Him, Associate Clinical Professor; Director, Tribal Justice Clinic
6. Jordan Woods, Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Professor of Law
7. Justin Pidot, Professor of Law, Ashby Lohse Chair in Water & Natural Resources; Co-director of the Environmental Law Program
8. Kristine Huskey, Clinical Professor of Law; Director, Veterans' Advocacy Law Clinic and Director of Clinics
9. Rory Juneman, Chair, James E. Rogers College of Law Association
10. Ruben Fierros, Director of Admissions, College of Law
11. Shannon Walker, Director of Development
12. Sylvia Lett, Associate Clinical Professor of Law
13. Teresa Miguel-Sterns, Associate Dean, Legal Information Innovation; Director, Law Library & Professor
R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy
Search Firm: WittKieffer
Search Status: Accepting Applications
Tentative Campus Visit Dates:
| Candidate A | March 26-27, 2026 |
| Candidate B | March 30-31, 2026 |
| Candidate C | April 2-3, 2026 |
| Candidate D | April 6-7, 2026 |
Committee Chair
Julie Funk, Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine
Committee Members
1. Sample, Paxton Alan, Graduate Student, Pharm Tox PhD
2.Robinson, Ali, Professional Student, PharmD P3
3. Haverman, Riley, Undergraduate Student, BSPS
4. Date, Abhijit, Associate Professor
5. LaFleur, Bonnie, Research Professor
6. Zhu, Haining, Professor
7. Galligan, Jim, Associate Professor
8. Cameron, Caitlin, Associate Professor of Practice
9. Edwards, Chris, Associate Clinical Professor
10. Matthias, Kathryn, Associate Clinical Professor
11. Cherrington, Nathan, Professor and Associate Dean, Research
12. Basurto, Sonya, Coordinator, Administrative Services
13. Smith, Nicholas, Assistant Dean, Finance and Administration
14. Musil, John, Donor, Alumnus
15. Peterson-Layne, Cathleen, Chair of National Advisory Board, Alumna
College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences
Search Firm: WittKieffer
Search Status: Accepting Applications
Tentative dates for Campus Visits:
| Candidate A | April 20-21, 2026 |
| Candidate B | April 23-24, 2026 |
| Candidate C | April 27-28, 2026 |
| Candidate D | April 30 - May 1, 2026 |
Committee Chair
Jenna Rickus, Senior Vice Provost, Office of the Provost and Jenny Lee, Dean and Vice President, Arizona International
Committee Members
1. Zelieann Craig, Assistant Dean for Research and Associate Professor, Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences
2. Kathleen Kennedy, Professor of Practice, Retailing and Consumer Science
3. Ashley Snider, Professor, School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness
4. Katharine Zeiders, Professor, Norton School of Human Ecology
5. Glenn Wright, Associate Professor & Associate Extension Specialist
6. Tauhidur Rahman, Associate Professor, Agricultural & Applied Economics
7. Kina Barton, Assistant Dean, Finance and Administration, Vet Med
8. Wendy Moore – Professor, Department of Entomology, Curator - U of A Insect Collection
9. Phil Bashaw – AZ Farm Bureau
10. Taylor Grogg, Assistant Director, Arizona Experiment Station Financial Operations
11. Dominic Rodriguez, Interim Director of Tribal Extension Program
12. Kimberly Alvarez – Undergraduate Student
13. Alma Anides Morales, Ph.D. candidate
14. Bas Aja, Executive Vice-President Arizona Cattlemen's Association
15. Thomas Torres, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management
Listening Sessions:
| County Extension Directors, Experiment Station Unit Directors and Extension Administrative Team | Monday, November 17 at 9:00-10:00am |
| Undergraduate and Graduate Students | Monday, November 17 at 10:30-11:30am |
| Executive Council and Dean’s Direct Reports | Monday, November 17 at 1:00-1:45pm |
| Staff and Postdocs | Monday, November 17 at 2:30-3:30pm |
| Faculty | Monday, November 17 at 4:00-5:00pm |
School Directors and Academic Department Heads | Tuesday, November 18 at 10:30-11:15am |
Ag100 Council | Wednesday, November 19 at 10:30-11:15am |
CALES Alumni Council Board of Directors | Wednesday, November 19 at 1:00-1:45pm |
| Community, External and Industry Partners | Thursday, December 4 at 9:00-9:45am |
| Extension Faculty and Staff | Thursday, December 4 at 10:00-10:45am |
| Open Session | Thursday, December 4 at 3:00-3:45pm |
Completed Searches
Search Status: Campus Interview Complete
Committee Chair
Shan Sutton, Dean, University of Arizona Libraries
Committee Members
Berlin Loa, Associate Professor of Practice
Cheryl Knott, Professor
Ryan Straight, Assistant Professor
Xiao Hu, Associate Professor
Simmons Buntin, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications
Brooke Hesse, Student
Laura Dozal, Student
Search Status: Completed
Committee Chair
Hasan Elahi, Dean, Arizona Arts
Committee Members
Karina Salazar, tenure-track assistant professor
Iliana Reyes, tenure-track professor, associate dean
Melanie Cody, tenure-track assistant professor
Toni Sparks, career-track professor of practice
Eryn McKinley, Manager of Post-Award and Research Administration
Travis Dean, graduate student
Christina Petrin, undergraduate student
Search Firm: Issacson Miller
Search Status: Completed
Committee Chair
Iman Hakim, Dean, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
Committee Members
Tomas Diaz de la Rubia, Sr VP, Research and Innovation
Bernard Kress, Director, XR Hardware at Google
Brandon Chalifoux, Assistant Professor of Optical Sciences and Assistant Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Justin Walker, Associate Dean for Business Development and Administration
Hong Hua, Professor and Jean M. Bennett Optical Endowed Chair, Optical Sciences
Travis Sawyer, Assistant Professor of Optical Sciences
R. Jason Jones, Professor and John Paul Schaefer Endowed Chair
Masud Mansuripur, Professor of Optical Sciences and Chair of Optical Data Storage
Kanu Sinha, Assistant Professor of Optical Sciences
Mario Romero-Ortega, Professor and Department Head of Biomedical Engineering
Mark Rodriguez, Manager, Program Finance & Operations
Laura Sawyer, Ph.D. Student
Rayce Bacchus, Undergraduate Student
Search Firm: WittKieffer
Search Status: Completed
Committee Chair
Nancy Pollock-Ellwand, Dean, College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture
Committee Members
Adriana Gallego, Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona
Chad Herzog, Executive + Artistic Director, Arizona Arts Live
David Morden, Associate Professor, TFTV
Gia Del Pino, PhD student, Art and Visual Culture Education; Marketing Specialist, Center for Creative Photography; Program Coordinator, JustArts Fellowship
Julia Franco Ramos, Undergraduate Student, TFTV
Karin Nolan, Associate Professor of Practice, School of Music
Lori Wiest, Professor, Director, School of Music
Sama Alshaibi, Regents Professor, School of Art
Tamara Dyke-Compton, Associate Director and Associate Professor, School of Dance
Tilghman Moyer, Executive Director of Development