The committee has hosted open sessions to gain community input
Janel England
Senior News Writer
The College is seeking a new Dean of Students/Vice President of Student Affairs, as students were recently informed via multiple campus-wide emails.
The search committee is headed by Assistant Professor of Education Matthew Broda. He is joined by History Professor Madonna Hettinger, Geology Professor Meagan Pollok, Assistant Athletic Director for Diversity and Inclusion Ashley Reid and Director of Residence Life Nathan Fein, as well as Camille Christenson ’17, Spencer Gilbert ’17 and Trustee Jim DeRose ’72.
As stated in the leadership profile that Broda sent out on Monday, the “new VP/Dean will create opportunities for campus-wide conversation on key student life issues including the alcohol policy, the role of Greek life in the overall campus social and residential experience and space planning for optimal on-campus programming, among other issues.”
Broda said that responsibilities of the new Dean haven’t changed, but the “difference will rest in how [the Dean] choose[s] to engage these responsibilities.”
He also noted that “the transformative nature of this position leaves significant latitude for the new Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students to help define the new objectives and actions and is encouraged to bring new ideas.”
Concerning new objectives that the new Dean might have, Interim President Georgia Nugent said, “I’d say there’s a realization that student life needs to be a much more significant partner in the overall experience of a Wooster student. This year, we experienced a good deal of disgruntlement about ‘party spaces.’ It was unfortunate that, literally, physical structure issues compelled the closing and renovation of the Underground and the need to limit partying in the houses. But a vibrant student life experience is so much more than party spaces! As some of our students learned when they attended a national student leadership conference, their fellow students from other campuses were aghast that ‘where to party’ seemed to be the biggest student life issue on the Wooster campus.”
Angela Johnston, Secretary of the College and Administrative Director of Student Life, provided some additional thoughts as to what she believes are needed traits in the new Dean: “I believe we need someone who already has experience as a dean of students at a liberal arts/residential institution. It will be important to bring someone who can say ‘Yes, I’ve seen this before, and I know what to do.’ We need someone who can hit the ground running and not have to ascend even a short learning curve.”
“We need someone who understands national trends and best practices, and someone who is quick to recognize how to leverage opportunities as they are presented,” Johnston added.
In the email that Broda sent out, he detailed a tentative timeline that the committee will be following, which included a series of open talks that were held around campus to gather student opinions on the new Dean of Students position.
Broda said that the conversation was constructed around three questions: “After reading the leadership profile for the Vice President for Student Affairs, what characteristics should we be reading and listening for as we read through applicant portfolios, select an initial pool, and invite finalists to bring to campus? If we select the best candidate for the Vice President for Student Affairs, how will the campus community and student life experience be different one year from now? If we select the best candidate for the Vice President for Student Affairs, how will the campus community/student life experience be different five years from now?
“[These talks] will be extremely helpful as we read initial portfolios and listen to candidates describe their vision for Student Life,” said Broda.
In addition, the search process will include both off-campus and on-campus interviews of up to 10 candidates. This series of interviews is hoped to conclude by the week of May 1.
As detailed in the leadership profile, all candidates who wished to be considered for the position were urged to apply by April 8.