The university is hoping to fill three college dean positions before fall semester.

It is unusual to have three vacancies in such important positions at one time, WSU President Elson S. Floyd said. In a rough fiscal climate, deans are searching for more stability, he said.

Searches are underway for deans of the College of Pharmacy, College of Education and College of Sciences.

PHARMACY DEAN The search for the dean of the College of Pharmacy is nearly over. Michael Griswold, dean of the College of Sciences and head of the search committee, said they will submit a recommendation to the provost soon.

In the past two months, three finalists have visited Pullman to meet with faculty, community members and students. The finalists are Yuen-Sum (Vincent) Lau of the University of Houston, Gary DeLander of Oregon State University and Gary Pollack of the University of North Carolina.

“I think the search has gone very fluently,” Griswold said. “We certainly hope we have a difficult time deciding between three strong candidates.” The provost will make the final choice, but there is no specific timeline for that decision.

EDUCATION DEAN The search for the dean of the College of Education is well underway after the tragic and unexpected death of former Dean Judy Mitchell in June. Eric Spangenberg, dean of the College of Business and head of the search committee, said the first wave of applicants has been processed and narrowed down. By spring break, the committee hopes to have narrowed it to about seven people, who will be interviewed before the committee decides on two or three finalists.

"Our goal is to make an offer to the appropriate candidate by April," Spangenberg said.

He said the applicants' skill and talent have been encouraging.

"Even in times of tough budget cuts, people want the opportunity to come here and lead a great group of faculty," he said.

SCIENCES DEAN Meanwhile, the search for the dean of the College of Sciences has just begun.

The search committee is complete except for one member, Provost Warwick M. Bayly said Friday.

After the search committee has been established, they will begin processing applications.

Bayly said he feels the university owes it to faculty to find strong candidates for all three dean positions.

"I'd like to get it done as expeditiously as possible," he said.