Ombudsman calls for more student involvement in search process

The search for a new director for the Women’s Resource Center will continue this week with the third all-day interview today.

Although last week’s interviews did not draw many students, Sheryl Smith, associate dean of students and student ombuds, sat in on several of the sessions and said they went very well.

“Having gone through the phone interactions with them, knowing some of them, having talked on the phone with each of them a couple times, I thought the interviews were very good conversations,” he said. “And that’s what you’re looking for in good interviews.”

Because the search for a director is still open, the search committee recently received another application. Smith said if this applicant measures up to the current candidates, the committee will take action.

“If a new applicant rises to the level of being in the mix with these five, then we will take them to the step of the phone interviews, and if they by chance arrive to being at the level of these five for an on-campus, then we would give consideration,” she said. “However, if we come to the end of next week after all five have been here, we will move pretty quickly then.”

Smith said she would like to see more people, especially students, attend the sessions. No students attended Monday’s session, and one student went to Tuesday’s. Several staff members attended, Smith said.

Smith said she knows conflicting schedules may be the problem, but she said it was important to the search committee to provide a time for students to attend the sessions for a new director.

“That position touches on so many different constituencies, and the Women’s Resource Center has to be able to build collaborations across campus,” she said. “It was really important for us in this process to give those people that should be the focus of those collaborations an opportunity to come hear the candidates.”

Today’s open session will take place from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in Room 320 in the Student Center, and the student session will also be held in Room 320 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. The interviews for Tuesday and Friday will be at the same times, but Tuesday’s sessions will be in Room 304 and Friday’s will be in Room 310C.

After this week’s interviews are completed, members of the search committee will complete evaluations of the candidates and turn them in to Greg Jarvie, associate vice president of student affairs and dean of students and Vice President Pete Goldsmith by Feb. 12. Jarvie and Goldsmith will then review the evaluations and make the final choice for a new director, Smith said.

With three more interviews to go, Smith said she’s happy with the two from last week.

“These were exciting this week, and I expect them to be equally exciting next week,” she said.

Although selecting a director is a priority, Smith said the responsibilities of the center are significant.

“The search process is just the first step,” she said. “Putting the next director in there is the beginning of revitalizing the center, but that can only happen if students, staff and faculty get involved and let the new director and staff know how this center can be an important part of our campus community and then help it become that.”

Today’s Candidate:

Heather Adams

• Current Academic Program Director, Office of Advising and Academic Services

• President of the Kent Academic Support and Advising Association since 2005

Candidate:

Amy Quillin

• Associate Director, Resident Services

• National Certified Counselor

Friday’s Candidate:

Jolly Janson

• Current Director of Educational and Special Programs, University of Dayton

• Worked with committees on alcohol, wellness, diversity, and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues

Contact student life reporter Brittany Wasko at [email protected].