In the search for a new dean of the College of Public Service, UCCS hosted four candidate finalists for the position.
The four finalists were hosted during the week of April 14 via public forum. One of the candidates, Jon Caudill, is serving as the interim dean of the College of Public Service until the position is filled. According to CU Careers, the salary range is between $145,000 – $210,000 annually.
The search committee tasked with choosing the dean is made of faculty from departments across campus, with Co-Chairs Ying Shang, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and George Rus, associate dean of the Mathematics Department.
Jon Caudill
Caudill was hosted by the committee on April 14.
Caudill is a tenured professor in the Criminal Justice Department and serves as the current interim dean of the College of Public Service at UCCS. Before pursuing a career in higher education, Caudill served in the United States Marine Corps for two years. He has taught criminal justice courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
“I don’t think the dean of a college should have direct influence and instruct departments about how they manage their curriculum, or how students and faculty should engage in research or how we should partner with our friends. I do have some ideas, though, about how the college can support these endeavors at the faculty and departmental levels,” Caudill said.
If selected as the dean, Caudill said he would like to engage with the college in a way that supports quality, creates a culture of service and community, and empowers people and departments. He said this will enhance student academic experiences, create workforce driven academic expansion and support the professional and financial development of faculty and staff.
William Wells
Wells was hosted by the committee on April 15.
Wells is the director of the Center for Intelligence and Crime Analysis in the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University (SHSU). He is also a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology and is acting president for research and strategic partnerships at SHSU.
From 2016-22, Wells served as chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at SHSU. As chair, he created new degree layouts and added new full-time faculty and researcher positions. In 2023, he created the Center for Intelligence and Crime Analysis, which has provided students with 26 professional development courses, internship opportunities and a certificate in crime analysis and mapping.
“One of the things that I try to focus on as department chair is working with faculty and establishing that we don’t just want to think short term for our students. We don’t want to just think about retention, graduation and a first job. We want to give them a foundation that will carry them through their careers,” Wells said.
Jo Ann Regan
Regan was hosted by the committee on April 17.
Regan is dean of the National Catholic School of Social Service at The Catholic University of America. As dean, she has secured over $7 million in scholarship funding for underrepresented students pursuing social work careers focusing on homelessness, substance use and behavioral health. Prior to this position, Regan served as vice president of education and director of accreditation for the Council on Social Work Education.
Regan wants to bring collaborative degree pathways to the public service curriculum that can be applied to every discipline in the college. The curriculum will be built on trauma-informed leadership, restorative justice practices, non-profit management, case-based learning and community policing and social justice.
“These certificate programs are not just for social workers. They are for nurses, community leaders and people working in government who want to specialize in homelessness, behavioral health and nonprofit innovation,” Regan said.
Kyle Farmbry
Farmbry was hosted by the committee on April 18.
Farmbry recently completed a three-year term as president of Guilford College. Prior to this position, he served as dean of the graduate school at Rutgers University-Newark and has taught at the University of Texas at San Antonio, Grand Valley State University and San Diego State University. Farmbry served as a Fulbright New Century Scholar examining European Union immigration policies and youth civic engagement examination in South Africa.
Farmbry said the value of higher-education has been lost, and suggests that strategic thinking, wisdom building, innovation and problem-based approaches be adopted in curriculum and collaboration in the College of Public Service.
“One of the things I find very appealing about your school is that you have public administration and public policy; you’ve got social work and criminal justice. In some ways, that’s a model for interacting with other departments and divisions that might otherwise be separate.”
The search committee is collecting feedback on the four finalists.
Feedback for each candidate is due April 22 by 5 p.m.