Six people have been identified as leading candidates for the 14th permanent WSU School of Medicine dean, according to Dr. Gary Abrams, chair of the search committee. Each of the candidates will complete a single-day on-site screening interview, a process that will wrap up by the end of August.

"Because the committee's foremost charge is to deliver a slate of outstanding candidates with impeccable credentials and personal integrity, it is impossible to predict our timeline for completion," Dr. Abrams wrote in a letter to the School of Medicine community last week. "However, it is my hope as search committee chair to conclude the committee's charge by the end of this year."

The search began six months ago with Provost Nancy Barrett's appointment of the search committee. In December, the national executive search firm Witt/Kieffer was hired to recruit senior leaders of academic health centers. The search firm started the year with a series of on-site meetings with a broad range of medical school, main campus and Detroit Medical Center constituents to identify key characteristics sought for in a dean.

Witt/Kieffer made more than 1,200 contacts with potential candidates and received 34 applications. After a comprehensive evaluation of each applicant's credentials, the field was narrowed to 17. Ann Zenzer, a Witt/Kieffer principal, conducted personal interviews with each of these individuals and presented a thorough report to the search committee, which selected six people to invite to campus.

After initial on-site interviews are completed, certain candidates will be invited back to campus for comprehensive interviews with all key constituencies. The search committee then will deliver a short list of three candidates to Provost Barrett.

For more on the dean search, please visit www.med.wayne.edu/admin/deansearch/index.asp.