<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0aFdTk_1H3KPlyT00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0aFdTk_1H3KPlyT00" width="1200" height="900" ><figcaption>Photo by Natalie Chin | The Triangle</figcaption></figure>On Nov. 3, Drexel University’s Office of the Provost announced the search committee for the next Dean of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design. This announcement comes almost a year after the previous dean, Jason Schupbach, stepped down to take the role as President of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.Since his departure in Nov. 2025, Debra Ruben has served as interim dean of Westphal. Ruben has been an important member of the Westphal community for the past 25 years. Before taking on this role, she was the academic associate dean and associate professor of Interior Design. In a statement announcing her role as interim dean, the College described her as “a devoted advocate for students, staff, and faculty at Westphal . . . poised to lead our College expertly amid the search for a permanent dean.”Drexel has hired the executive search firm WittKieffer to aid in the process of finding a new dean.Wittkieffer promises to help universities “build the leadership teams that foster opportunity and improve quality of life through empowering their learning communities, strengthening their academic offerings, and engaging their supporters.”Working alongside WittKieffer is the search committee made up of Drexel employees, 12 members from Westphal college, one from the College of Arts and Sciences, and one from LeBow College of Business. Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions Dr. Emily Roper chairs the committee.The qualities and characteristics the committee is looking for in a dean are being developed into a “leadership profile for the position, informed by feedback from a broad range of stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, university leadership, and industry partners.”“This input will help identify the leadership qualities, experience, and characteristics that are most important for the next dean,” Roper said.Looking to the future, Roper added that “The timeline for appointing a new dean will depend on the progress of the search and the University's process. I would not want to speculate on a specific date at this point, but updates will be shared as appropriate.”While Westphal College searches for a new dean, students within the college seem largely unaware that the search is occurring.One Westphal student, who chose to remain anonymous, says they did not find out the college was looking for a new dean until “[The Triangle] told me. I found out from you.”Another anonymous Westphal student echoed the sentiment, answering “no” when The Triangle asked if they were aware that Westphal was looking for a new dean. When questioned about how they found out Debra Ruben was named interim dean of the college, the same student said that “she just soft launched ‘interim dean’ on her Outlook signature, but I don’t think we got an email from her or Westphal.”For Westphal students, the search for a new dean may seem disconnected from their day-to-day lives. However, whoever does fill the role will have a real impact on their education and future at Drexel.</div></body>

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On Nov. 3, Drexel University’s Office of the Provost announced the search committee for the next Dean of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design. This announcement comes almost a year after the previous dean, Jason Schupbach, stepped down to take the role as President of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

Westphal begins search for new dean

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On Nov. 3, Drexel University’s Office of the Provost announced the search committee for the next Dean of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and 

Westphal begins search for new dean

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