The search for the next dean of the College of Arts & Sciences kicked off Feb. 21 with a presentation from one of four candidates.

A committee that included Saint Louis University staff members and one student narrowed down a pool of 90 nominees and reviewed nearly 40 applications before selecting four candidates for on-campus interviews.

Candidates for the position include John Kiss, professor and chair of the Botany Department at Miami University in Ohio; Michael Barber, S.J., interim dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and dean of the College of Philosophy and Letters at Saint Louis University; James Payne, interim dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and professor of economics at Illinois State University; and Robert Pratt, chair of the History Department at the University of Georgia.

During screening interviews, the committee used criteria drawn from recommendations made earlier in the process by department chairs, faculty, staff and students of the College.

Each of the candidates will meet with several groups within the College and the University during their visits to campus, according to an e-mail sent by the search committee Feb. 16.

Open meetings with students began Feb. 21 with Kiss, who met with a small group of students. Kiss answered student questions and spoke of his previous experience as a professor and a student mentor.

He said a College of Arts & Sciences is the “basic knowledge part” of a university and said he would embrace the challenge to work with people from many different departments.

Kiss attended undergraduate at Georgetown University and said coming to a Jesuit university would be like “coming back to my roots.”

He also spoke of the importance of faculty mentors and said if he is selected dean, he would like to keep in touch with students directly in some capacity.

Barber’s open forum with students will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. in Busch Student Center Room 254. Payne will meet with students on Feb. 28 at 1 p.m. in BSC 254, and Pratt will meet with students March 10 at 1 p.m. in Room 304 in the School of Law.

Additional information on each of the candidates, including their previous positions and published works, was sent in an email to all students in the College.

All graduate and undergraduate students in the College of Arts & Sciences are invited to attend the meetings, ask the candidates questions and provide an evaluation to the search committee.