With Dean Robert Anderson’s retirement approaching in August, the College of Business Administration is still searching for a replacement.

Dwayne Smith, the vice provost for faculty and program development, said that the average search for a business dean takes up to two years.

“We are certainly eager to close this search as quickly as possible,” Smith said. “There is no hard-and-fast deadline.”

Smith said USF wants to make sure they hire the best candidate for the position.

Of the 67 applications that have been processed, only Claude Lilly, the dean of the Belk College of Business at the University of North Carolina, was formally offered the position so far. He declined USF’s offer.

Raquel Salinas, who works for the provost’s office, said that Lilly was probably given a counter offer by UNC.

“It’s a pain in the neck to replace these people, so they usually offer them something else to stay,” Salinas said.

With the amount of major universities searching for business deans, finding the right one for USF may be a daunting task. Smith said that they have no contingency plan if they don’t find a new dean before August.

Anderson has kept his position for 10 years and taught at USF for 30. He thinks that someone who has a mixture of experience in both the academic and business worlds will be best suited the job.

Anderson said the mark of a good dean is realizing the most important decision to be made is who to hire into the college.

“You solve a lot of problems by hiring the right people because they never occur,” Anderson said.

Anderson also said the next dean should know the ins and outs of business and where it is headed in the future, so experience in the business world is extremely important.

“It’s as important as medical doctor doing a residency,” Anderson said.

There are three applicants who are still being considered for the position. They all possess experience in the administrative and corporate worlds.

The candidates are Lynne Richardson, Robert Forsythe and Edward Popper.

Only Popper, who is the dean of the School of Business at Merrimack College, has been formally interviewed by USF at this time.

Smith said all candidates have to go through a screening process in which they meet with administrators, faculty, staff, students and members of the business community. Each person who meets with the potential candidate can fill out an anonymous evaluation survey on what he or she thinks of the applicant.

Smith also said USF has placed ads around the nation to entice qualified candidates to apply.

Smith said COBA is looking for candidates who are capable of being named as a full professor, have an impressive package of credentials and are proven leaders at their institutions.

Smith said that USF often has trouble with a lack of name recognition, which may slow the hiring process. However, he also said USF is growing and becoming more visible to the outside world.

Anderson said he hopes his successor will see USF as a growing urban center and work with the surrounding community to continue to build the University’s reputation.

“I hope the next dean will have an appreciation for what we are as an institution,” Anderson said. “We are a metropolitan, residential school who has tremendous ties to the outside community.”