Dr. Guy Imhoff, interim Dean of Arts and Sciences
Photo Courtesy of Sbu.edu
BY: CASSIDEY KAVATHAS, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Guy Imhoff was promoted from associate dean to interim dean of Arts and Sciences at St. Bonaventure University on Sept. 7.
Imhoff, who holds a doctorate in French literature from the University of Kansas, has taught French at Bonaventure since 2003.
“I’m here to help the students and the faculty in the School of Arts and Sciences, but I’m here to help anyone on campus,” said Imhoff. “If students have a question, they can come say hi. Because I’ve been an advisor for a long time I can help in different fields, or at least tell them where they can find help.”
Imhoff, who has served as Bonaventure’s associate dean since April, previously held multiple faculty and administrative roles. He was chair of Bonaventure’s Department of Modern Languages from 2009 to 2015, interim dean of Clare College from 2014 to 2018 and ran the university’s Pine Grove Dual Enrollment Program. He also served as advisor for undeclared freshman in the School of Arts and Sciences. Imhoff won a Fr. Joe Doino Award in 2013 and a faculty Professional Excellence Award for university service in 2018.
“One of the things that Dr. Imhoff has is a wealth of experience,” said David Hilmey, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “He’s been at Bonaventure for quite a while and served in so many different capacities.”
A dean’s job is to lead all programs and faculty within a school while serving as a connection to higher administration. An associate dean only oversees general education and helps the dean in any way needed.
“Faculty can come to me for help if they have any questions and if programs need to be modified or even created,” said Imhoff. “I’m there to help. And then creating the schedule of classes with the help of the chairs for next semester and any kind of problems that students might have or faculty might have — my job is a connection with the higher administration like the provost.”
Hilmey said a dean should be a strong advocate for faculty and programs in his or her school while also being able to see everything from a broader institutional perspective. He highlighted compromise and attentive listening as key skills any dean should refine.
“[Imhoff] has been able to have a broader view of things, which I think allows him to see that other side. He definitely has that ability to straddle both of those worlds,” said Hilmey. “Him being someone who is calm will allow him to truly listen to the issues and hopefully create that solution or that pathway for people. So I do think he has those qualities to help the school move forward.”
Hilmey said he is happy to welcome Imhoff into his old position and officially get settled in his new position as provost.
“Since Dr. Imhoff was appointed, I’m able to transition out of the dean role,” said Hilmey. “This summer, I was an interim provost and a dean, and then I had to flip that when I became provost. I was interim dean until we appointed Dr. Imhoff. Now, I’m feeling like I’m starting to settle into the provost role.”
Imhoff has also settled into his new role while teaching two French courses this semester through the help of Hilmey, the department chairs and Penny Clancy, his administrative assistant.
“Without her [Clancy], I would be a bit lost, and then I’m working with all the chairs. I don’t do the job by myself. Nobody does a job by themselves,” said Imhoff “I see myself not as a leader, but as a colleague of the art-and-science people. So we work together.”
Currently, the search for a full dean of Arts and Sciences has not been started or developed. According to Hilmey and Imhoff, the search will likely be national in scope but also include internal candidates. The search, set to start this fall, would largely take place next semester.
“We have support from President Gingrich, and we’re planning on moving forward with a search,” said Hilmey. “We would anticipate and hope that the new dean is in place by the next academic year, whether that’s summer or some other time like that. That’s the goal. Those discussions still have to happen. We really want to get an investment from and a discussion with the faculty to make sure we know what they want out of this process.”
kavathcj20@bonaventure.edu
