The search for a full-time dean for the Lewis School of Business is underway as Marshall University looks to fill interim administrative roles.

“My best hope is that we find a really experienced, visionary external dean,” Jeffrey Archambault, interim dean of the School of Business, said. “We’re right for someone to come in and say, ’Hey, let’s look at things slightly differently, take what we’ve got and try to take it to the next level.’”

Archambault has held the position of interim dean for 15 months. He was appointed to succeed Avi Mukherjee, who is currently serving the role of provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs. Prior to this, Archambault served as the associate dean of the College of Business.

“I enjoy the associate dean role,” Archambault said. “I’m an accounting professor by trade, so it is more into the scheduling type stuff. It’s more details that I enjoy working in.”

The university has formed committees to fill multiple roles around campus, including deans for the School of Business, College of Arts and Media, and College of Science, all of which are currently being filled by interim personnel. The university has also enlisted the help of a nationwide search organization, AGB Search, to aid with the scout. 

“These search organizations do a good job at bringing in a very broad talent pool together,” Archambault said.

Archambault hopes that the work of the committees and search organization will help find a suitable department head who will continue the work being done by the college and will continue pursuing its vision of merging the school with Huntington’s business community.

“We’re really working on societal impact,” Archambault said. “We’re trying to integrate the college with the business community and give a better educational experience to our students.”

Representatives of AGB visited campus in mid-October to meet with students and faculty to discuss qualifications that the university and community will prioritize as they review future applicants.