Provost Renu Khator named 24 faculty, staff and students to serve as members of the search committee to find a new dean for the College of Arts and Sciences on Thursday.

Khator said in an e-mail notifying the members that participation on the committee is an “extremely important service to the college and university.” In the e-mail, Khator also informed the newly appointed members about their responsibilities in the committee.

One of the committee’s tasks is to advertise the position for new dean “using national media sources and personal contacts in order to ensure a well-qualified and diverse pool (of candidates),” Khator said.

In addition, the committee is responsible for reviewing letters from applicants and their resumes in order to identify those who meet the criteria for dean of USF’s largest college, Khator said.

“(The committee will) evaluate the credentials of all qualified candidates in order to recommend the individuals who will be brought to campus for interview,” she said, adding that the committee will “coordinate and participate in the interviews of the candidates brought to the campus.”

Dean Louis Martin Vega of the College of Engineering was named chair of the search committee while Associate Provost Phil Smith would serve as the representative from the provost’s office on the board.

Some other members of the committee include, Trevor Purcell, chairman of the Africana Studies Department, undergraduate student Jolien Verdaasdonk, Dwayne Smith, chairman of the Criminology Department and Marsha Marley, assistant professor of the Department of Social Work, among others.

Khator said she plans to meet with the committee Wednesday to further discuss the search process and the committee members’ responsibilities.