Ann Weick may be the last of a dying breed of academic deans – the kind who stay around for more than a decade.

At the end of this school year, Weick will step down after 19 years as dean of Kansas University’s School of Social Welfare. With the average tenure of a dean nationally now at around four years, KU may never seen a dean that serves as long as Weick.

“It’s an intense job,” she said. “But there are so many opportunities for creativity, whether it’s in new program development or recruiting new faculty. It’s been very engaging.”

KU will launch searches for three new academic deans during the upcoming year, more than an average year. Those leaving:

¢ Weick, who is retiring from KU to write and be more involved in community projects. She will remain until the end of the year, with a new dean expected to be appointed by the beginning of the 2006-07 school year.

¢ Kim Wilcox, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences since 2002, left July 1 to become provost at Michigan State University, his alma mater. Barbara Romzek, who has served as associate dean of the college since 2000, is serving as interim dean until a replacement is found.

¢ Steve McAllister, dean of the School of Law since July 2000, announced earlier this year he’ll step down Monday to return to full-time faculty status. Mike Davis, a longtime law professor who was dean from 1980 to 1989, will serve as interim dean while a full-time replacement is found.

A search committee has been appointed for the law school position. Committees for the other two positions hadn’t been appointed by press time.

David Shulenburger, provost and executive vice chancellor, said he was confident each of the three positions would attract quality candidates from across the nation. Part of that credit, he said, should go to the outgoing deans.

“It makes it a lot easier for us,” he said. “We’ll be fine, so long as we can attract good people that fit the institution and are ready and willing to help the place.”

Though losing three deans in one year may be more than usual, he said it’s still a small portion considering KU has 14 schools.

“Three is not such a huge fraction of our total deans that we’ll be crippled,” he said.