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Week of 26 February 1999 Vol. II, No. 25 Feature Article After 7 years, MET says so long to its dean By Eric McHenry Romualdas Skvarcius, who has overseen a seven-year period of vitality and growth at Metropolitan College, will step down as dean this summer. Following a sabbatical during the '99-'00 academic year, he says, he will return to the University in a different capacity. Provost Dennis Berkey says the search for a successor will begin right away and that the University will name an interim dean if necessary. A search committee chaired by Alan Jette, dean of Sargent College, has been appointed. "Rom Skvarcius has had a long career that has touched several areas of Boston University, and MET in particular," Berkey says. "We are grateful for his many years of dedicated service." Skvarcius came to BU in 1971 as an SED assistant professor of mathematics education. He moved to the College of Arts and Sciences in 1976, and to MET four years later. He taught in and chaired the college's computer science department, then directed the science and engineering program before assuming the associate deanship for academic affairs in 1988. He has occupied his current post since 1993. "We've changed in a variety of ways," Skvarcius says of MET during his tenure. "We've experienced some growth, particularly at the graduate level, which I think is where the market is. We're very well-positioned right now to meet the community's needs, especially those of the technology sector. That, in a way, has been our strength." MET enrolls more than 3,500 students on the Boston campus and many more at the University's International Graduate Centers in such locations as Brussels and London. Chief among its purposes is to offer working professionals the opportunity to take evening courses toward a practical degree. The college confers associate's and bachelor's degrees in subjects ranging from criminal justice to hospitality administration to art history, as well as advanced degrees. As its dean, Skvarcius has introduced or helped usher in several new graduate programs, including master's of science degrees in arts administration, actuarial science, and telecommunication. Romualdas Skvarcius Photo by Vernon Doucette "Dean Skvarcius has been instrumental in bringing new programs to fruition," says Carl Sessa, assistant dean of student services at MET, "and those programs have been very successful. They've turned out to be good bets. He has excellent judgment. He's been aggressive about expanding our curricula, but not hasty." Sessa says that enrollment rates for MET programs have either grown or remained stable under Skvarcius, while those of the college's regional competitors -- other schools offering evening courses for professionals -- have for the most part seen significant declines. He attributes this consistency to the strength of MET's reputation, a "customer-service oriented" approach favored by Skvarcius, and the school's responsiveness to the needs of the market. One unique program implemented under Skvarcius' aegis is a MET partnership with Liberty Mutual Insurance. Qualified employees can earn a master's in computer science by participating