Dr. Gregerson, an associate professor of biology, announced late last semester that he had accepted a position at a college in Savannah, GA and would begin teaching there this fall.  Ask anyone and they’ll agree with you….Dr. Gregerson left some big shoes to fill.  He taught classes like Genetics and Molecular Biology and was the pre-med advisor.  Oh yes, and he was named Arkansas Professor of the Year…..twice. That should give some insight regarding the quality of his teaching.

            Anyway, this summer a search committee has been working to find someone to fill his position.  I think they’ve weeded through something like 70 applications and have narrowed it down to the final four candidates; the final four were invited to come to campus and have been visiting over the past few weeks.  When I looked at the candidates’ schedule of events for when they visit campus, I was really surprised by how intense it was.  It’s not like we drill them with tons of questions or anything, but they just have to meet with so many different people!  One thing that I’ve really been impressed by is the amount of student involvement in the process.  Each candidate is asked to present a seminar for the current professors and the students so we can evaluate their teaching style and learn about their research.  Also, the ten of us here this summer doing research have been able to meet each candidate for lunch, which is great because we can ask them questions and see how well they can relate and interact with students.

            This whole professor interview process has made me realize the extent of the college’s efforts to find high-quality professors that can meet the expectations of Lyon and mold well with the college community.  The search committee has looked far and wide…literally (we had a candidate visiting last week from New Zealand!) …for the right person, and I look forward to seeing who will get the job!