Choosing the ESI director, a reprise

Last week, I met with the new director of ESI, Mr. Lemallem. After our meeting, I understand why the students are so excited about his appointment.

Like most of the professors at ESI, Mr. Lemallem is a polyglot. He's also aware of blogs, because he found this one and read it. In response to my blog posting about the difficulty I had following the process of naming a new ESI director, he explained the following :

For those in the system, the selection process was transparent. Each candidate submitted his vision for ESI, and the top eight candidates spoke at the Ministry that sponsors ESI: the Haut Commissariat au Plan. The original call for applications is in Arabic and is still on the ESI website.

The names of the search committee members were known, and the five members were prominent, competent, and came from different but complementary backgrounds. Once the top three finalists were selected by the committee, the names and files were sent to the King who had the final decision.

Since Mr. Lemallem's arrival, he's had a lot of tough tasks to tackle. The educational reform will require ESI to change the structure of the program in the coming year. With the Bologna Accords in Europe and with Sarkozy's sweeping and unpopular “Americanization” reforms in France, the theme of higher ed. reform is definitely in the air. Educational reforms have also been a priority locally since the new King ascended the throne almost a decade ago.

I'm thrilled with the results of my discussion with the new director at ESI and my new insights. Further, two days after the meeting, I had a brand new ESI email address and should be added to the list of professors on the ESI website shortly. I also hope to get the chance to participate in the ongoing ESI meetings about the reform (the invitation to which will surely be sent to my new email account).