Advancing the vision of Ball State's College of Communication, Information and Media through fund-raising and teamwork is among the top goals for the college's second dean candidate.
In an open forum at Bracken Library Wednesday, Dennis Trinkle, chief information officer and associate vice president for academic affairs at DePauw University, emphasized the value of collaboration among the college's four units -- telecommunications, journalism, communication studies and the Center for Information and Communication Sciences.
Trinkle said his extensive teaching and administrative experience make him an appropriate fit for CCIM.
"All of the activities that I have been engaged in, all of my scholarship and teaching, have been right in the heart of the college," he said.
With Gov. Mitch Daniels' decision to freeze higher education spending, Trinkle said he would continue to increase fund-raising for the college's student programs and activities.
In the past three years, Trinkle acquired more than $22 million in grant funds and more than $3 million in individual capital gifts at DePauw. Trinkle, who expects $10 to $15 million more in gifts for DePauw within the next few months, said he can activate a network for providing early gifts to Ball State as well.
"I think I can jump-start that to Ball State's benefit with a lot of the relationships I am already building," he said.
Hiring faculty and staff outside of Indiana and promoting diversity among students and faculty in the college is also a goal for Trinkle, who said he strove for diversity at DePauw since 1986.
"It's an ongoing challenge, but with these challenges we wake up every morning and keep saying it's a priority," Trinkle said.
In addition to being DePauw's CIO and associate vice president for academic affairs, Trinkle is an associate professor of history at the university and also taught history at the University of Indianapolis and the University of Cincinnati. He served as coordinator of Information Systems and Technology and as director of the 361-Degree Initiative at DePauw from 2003 to 2004.
Trinkle's primary background in history instruction did not prevent him from assuming the role of CIO at DePauw, he said. His study of technology's place in higher education and in society, as well as his experience in running a Web design firm, has prepared him for the CCIM dean's position, he said.
"I didn't have the background to be CIO either," Trinkle said. "The key to succeeding is knowing what you don't know and putting listening first."
The Dean Search Committee is accepting evaluations and feedback from students and faculty through the end of this week and will meet early next week to discuss the candidates before making a recommendation to Provost Beverley Pitts.
If committee members feel neither candidate is appropriate for the college, they might consider other applicants, Rod Davis, committee chair, said. Davis said he is pleased, however, with both candidates.
"I think their on-site interviews have proven out what we thought about them to begin with," Davis said. "Part of the reason you bring people to campus is because you think they are the strongest... I think both candidates did a very good job of representing themselves and their strengths."
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