Letters & Science finalists to conduct presentations

Finalists for dean of the College of Letters & Science will conduct public presentations and question and answer sessions ahead of the end of the semester.

As part of formal campus interviews, the sessions will be held at 3:30 p.m. in the Gordon Dining and Event Center, 770 W. Dayton St., on the following dates:

—Thursday, May 9 (Sonata room): John Coleman, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science and a Lyons Family Faculty Fellow at UW–Madison.

—Monday, May 13 (Sonata room): Karl Scholz, Nellie June Gray Professor of Economic Policy and chair of the Department of Economics at UW–Madison.

—Wednesday, May 15 (Sonata room): David McDonald, Alice D. Mortenson/Petrovich Professor of History at UW–Madison.

—Thursday, May 16 (Symphony room): Jane Tylus, professor of Italian studies and comparative literature, faculty director of the Humanities Initiative, and former vice provost for academic affairs at New York University.

A reception with light refreshments will follow each Q & A session.

Feedback on the candidates can be provided online.

The College of Letters & Science provides the liberal arts foundation for the university at all levels of study. It confers nearly half of all UW–Madison degrees, including 57 percent of undergraduate degrees in 2011-12, and teaches over 60 percent of all UW–Madison credit hours, including 84 percent of all freshman and sophomore credits.

The dean oversees more than 3,100 faculty and staff positions across 39 departments, 22 interdisciplinary programs, 70 research centers and institutes, and five professional schools. In 2011-12, the college received $105.1 million in federal research awards, second only to the School of Medicine and Public Health.