The search committee for Professor of Biology, Dean of Science David Scicchitano’s replacement consists of 16 members, with representation from every academic division at NYU Abu Dhabi and every department within the Division of Science. Francesco Arneodo, Associate Dean of Science and Associate Professor of Physics will chair the committee. The faculty members were chosen after Provost Fabio Piano held walk-in hours in his office to listen to concerns and ideas.

In addition to faculty, Student Government President and Biology student Tamara Gjorgjieva is the student representative. Search firm, Koya Leadership Partners is advising the process. Koya has worked with NYUAD before. Alongside the search for Dean of Science they are also assisting in finding a Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, an Associate Dean of Students and a Director for the NYUAD Library. The committee is meeting monthly, with all 16 members allowed to nominate candidates. It hopes to start an initial shortlist in its next meeting this March. After screening and interviews, a list of three to five people will be presented to Provost Piano who will have the final say. Information on specific candidates is confidential, as many of them hold important positions in their current institutions and may not wish to publicize that they are considering leaving. Ideally, the chosen candidate would start on Sep. 1. Gjorgjieva held a listening session on Feb. 20 to gather input on the search from the student body. Students from the Class of 2019 expressed a desire for the new Dean to be accessible to students.

Hala Aqel, Class of 2019 and Chair of the Student Government Academic Committee for the Science Division, commented on the need for someone with an interdisciplinary approach in the sciences. “It might be harder to find this criteria or prove it on a piece of paper… but this goes into all the questions of what do we care about, what our challenges are.” said Aqel.
Gjorgjieva also shared the criteria that she had already brought up in the committee meeting. These included being a good spokesperson for the Division of Science within the university and with outside partnerships as well as effectively communicating the division’s vision. Another criterion was an understanding of how to work within an international environment. “Someone that is not keen to engage in diversity is not going to have a good time at NYUAD,” commented Gjorgjieva.