Nejad Returns to the Faculty
By Rachel Moulton '97

Hassan Nejad, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, has been working at Antioch for 22 years. In March of 1996, he accepted the position of Executive Vice President, and a year later, he assumed the role of Dean of Faculty as well. Now seven years later, Hassan is retiring from both positions and returning to the classroom.

Hassan’s last faculty meeting as Dean was in April, and it was a very emotional meeting for him. The faculty honored him and spoke about his interaction with them and his services to the institution. Hassan says his successes are really a reflection of the good people he depended upon.

“Nancy Wilburn has been marvelous in every respect,” says Hassan about his executive assistant. “Without her support, patience, and tactfulness the job would have been much harder.” He makes sure to mention numerous other people when he talks about his time as Dean who have helped tremendously these last seven years, including but not limited to Ann Filemyr, former Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Journalism/Communications and Environmental Studies; Andrzej Bloch, Professor of Economics and Director of Antioch Education Abroad; Susan Eklund-Leen, former Director and Associate Professor of Cooperative Education; Tom Haugsby, Director and Professor of Cooperative Education; Cathy LaPalombara, Associate Dean of Faculty and Associate Professor of Management; and Bonnie Scranton, Registrar.

With the exception of 2002-2003 – which held the NCA review, seven faculty searches, and 17 faculty personnel review cases – Hassan has kept up with his teaching by offering one course per term. Hassan is careful to point out that he did not teach these courses because he had to. “Bob Devine and I both decided, when we came to our offices in 1996-97, that it was important for the President and Vice President to be in the classroom as much as possible, to directly connect with the students in an academic setting,” said Hassan.

From setting into motion faculty personnel policies that had been on the back burner for years, to developing and implementing a strategic plan, Hassan’s plate was always full. In fact, a great deal of Hassan’s time was spent hiring and mentoring over 35 new faculty members, nearly 50% of the current faculty. In 1998, Hassan led a search for 16 faculty members. He did this with a budget of only $16,000. “We brought three to five people to campus for each search. So multiply 16 positions by four, you’re talking about 64 people coming from all over the country. One of them came from abroad. Take into consideration airfare, housing, incidentals, food, and advertising. To conduct such a multiple search for $16,000 is very hard,” explains Hassan. Yet Hassan was successful, appointing 14 out of the 16 tenure-track positions.

Hassan also led the production of three comprehensive College catalogs, the coordination of a self-study, and the preparations for an unprecedented Great Lakes College Association review. “We had never had an outside review of the academic program in my tenure at Antioch.” The visit had to be organized and the campus prepared. The cooperation of the faculty and the good work of Ann Filemyr and Steve Schwerner ’60 were key to the success of the review.

Finding the balance between the administrative and academic demands of the College was one among many of Hassan’s challenges, but he says he was blessed with good health, energy, and a supportive family. Hassan is proud of Antioch’s faculty and their accomplishments as teachers and academic scholars in their own fields: “The academic program is of very good quality, due primarily to the strength of the faculty and their passion and commitment to Antioch.”

Hassan will be on sabbatical next year working on research projects centering around his interests in International Law, peace in the Middle East, and the future of Liberal Arts Colleges. This year spent “catching up” on his academic work will prepare him to return to teaching at Antioch in 2004. In the meantime, Rick Jurasek (see page 1) has taken over Hassan’s duties as Dean of Faculty.

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