The College of Business is searching for a new dean.

Former dean Benjamin Allen said he will not be returning when his term as interim vice president of External Affairs ends July 1.

After one year as interim vice president and seven years as dean for the business college, Allen said he wants to be a professor of transportation and logistics again.

He decided seven years was long enough and it was an appropriate time to step down, although it was a difficult decision.

“I really did enjoy working with others in the college these seven years and gained a respect for those who are dean for a long time – it’s a challenging job,” he said.

The 16-member search committee will be comprised of faculty, students and alumni. The committee will discuss a timeline for the search, decide on a description for the position and organize the search at its first meeting Monday, said Walter Gmelch, head of the search committee and College of Education dean.

“The search committee is an important part of the search process,” Gmelch said.

The search will be an open process in which the community and the college will be involved, Gmelch said.

“We should have the dean selected by spring and in place by the summer,” he said. “Hopefully before school is out, as soon as possible.”

Labh Hira, interim dean of the College of Business, is optimistic about the search.

“There’s exciting things happening in the college right now,” Hira said. “With the new building on the horizon, we should be able to attract excellent candidates for the position.”

After the new dean is in place, Hira will return to the faculty as a professor of accounting.

Allen said he agrees the college is at a good time to attract candidates.

“It’s an exciting time to showcase the college,” he said. “[We] can kind of brag about it in the process [of the search]. It should be easy to attract a strong pool of candidates.”

The search will begin with a long list of candidates and after interviews three or four candidates will visit the campus, Gmelch said.

“I’m very hopeful that they’ll end up with a strong set of finalists,” Allen said.

There is one obstacle Gmelch said the committee will have in searching for a new dean.

“Ben Allen will be hard to replace,” he said. “He was an excellent dean.”