James T. McGill, senior vice president for finance and administration, has appointed a 15-member advisory committee to aid in the search for a new university vice president for human resources.

The group will help identify a successor to Audrey Smith, who has announced her intention to retire at the end of this academic year. Smith, who came to Johns Hopkins in 1995, said she wants to pursue other interests precluded by her Hopkins responsibilities; specifically, she said she wants to travel, spend more time with her family and engage in public service.

Auerbach Associates, a consulting and executive search firm based in Boston, will support the search. In the coming weeks, representatives of the firm will meet with university personnel to help craft a position description.

The advisory committee will be chaired by Herbert Hansen, senior associate dean for finance and administration at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

In addition to Hansen, the committee is comprised of human resources staff, divisional representatives and an undergraduate student.

The members of the advisory committee are Edward Baker, associate dean for finance and administration at SAIS; Gloria Bryan, senior director of human resources at the School of Medicine; Patricia Day, senior director of employee relations in the Office of Human Resources; Manish Gala, a senior and student council president in the Whiting School of Engineering; Carolyn Gaskins, human resources manager at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library; Cynthia Holstein, administrative manager III in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biology; Judith Kilpatrick, director of Information Systems at Hopkins ITS; Christina Lundquist, administrator in the School of Medicine's Department of Orthopedic Surgery; Sharon McBride, coordinator of payroll/records for the Office of Human Resources; Isabel Miles, administrative manager III for the Whiting School's Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering; Raymond Ou, coordinator of residential life and student activities at the Peabody Institute; Pamela Paulk, vice president for human resources for the Johns Hopkins Health System; Neil Powe, director of the Welch Center for Prevention Epidemiology and Clinical Research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Edgar Roulhac, vice provost for academic services.

McGill said that the committee represents the diversity of Hopkins.

"We felt it vital that the Hopkins community as a whole be well-represented in this search, considering the significance of the position and how it impacts the thousands who work at the university," McGill said.

The advisory committee's first meeting will be Jan. 29. McGill said that he anticipates identifying a candidate by the end of June, to be in place before the start of the 2003-2004 academic year.

Nominations or other suggestions for the advisory committee can be sent to Meg Sonneborn in the Office of the Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration, 249 Garland Hall, Homewood campus, or sent by e-mail to msonneborn@jhu.edu.