A new director is being sought to fill the vacated coordinator position at the Kent State Women’s Resource Center.

Greg Jarvie, associate vice president of student affairs, said the search began at the start of this semester when he met with the 12 people on the search committee. They discussed what to look for in candidates for the job, as well as what the future of the position will be. One change they made to the position was to upgrade it to a director position.

The opening occurred in July after former coordinator Hilda Pettit stepped down so she could pursue academic studies. The job opening has not yet been listed to the public.

The center provides programs for the education and the improvement of the condition of female students and faculty at the university. It also provides emergency assistance to women in need.

Sheryl Smith, chair of the search committee, said one change students might notice is a decrease in the number of programs offered by the center because of a lack of a director.

“At the present time, the center is open for use,” Smith said. “The main thing is that there won’t be as many programs as there would be with a director.”

The change in position title means a slight pay increase, which is yet to be determined, Jarvie said.

The position has also been changed from a year-round position to a 10-month position. Jarvie said although the position’s length has been shortened, the upgrade from coordinator to director will balance out the salary.

The job opening will be posted in the next few weeks, Jarvie said.

The board also put a graduate assistant in charge of planning programs and dealing with emergencies at the center while the search is being conducted.

“The graduate assistant has to deal with any person that comes in with a crisis situation,” Jarvie said. “After she deals with the crisis, she is then to refer them to the appropriate office.”

The hiring process will begin once the job opening is posted.

Smith said that the committee hopes to have a new director by the end of this semester.

“It depends on the time it takes to interview candidates, but I would think that next semester is reasonable,” Smith said.

She said the ideal candidate for the job would have previous experience in working with the types of services that the center provides.

Jarvie was confident about the center’s ability to provide services despite not currently having a director.

“I don’t think that, although we are bear-bones in regards to staff, the programs at the center will be hurt,” he said. “I like to think we have all the programs covered. It’s just a period of transition.”

Contact student life reporter Kristen Kotz at [email protected].