Bijeta Lamichhane
News Editor
On Mar. 1, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Myrna Hernández sent an email to the campus community regarding changes in staff within the dean of students office. Hernández stated that these updates were made to “help students find support in the right places during the time of hybrid work.”
The changes include Lori Makin-Byrd, who is now serving as the interim associate vice president for student affairs. Makin-Byrd will also continue to be the Title IX coordinator, where she looks after “the management and resolution of all complaints of discrimination and harassment related to sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression and works closely with the College’s investigators and adjudicators for Title IX cases to ensure that all processes meet best practices.” As an interim associate vice president, she will oversee the class deans while also managing COVID-19 support for students in isolation and quarantine.
Furthermore, Associate Dean of Students Shadra Smith will continue to work at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) and serve the role of interim director of multicultural student services until May 2021. Smith will serve the Class of 2023 as an associate dean.
In addition, Director of Sexuality and Gender Inclusion Melissa Chesanko will also serve the role of interim associate dean of students for the Class of 2024. Finally, Director of International Student Services (ISS) Jill Munro will serve as the interim associate dean of students for the class of 2025 while continuing her position as the director of ISS.
Finally, justin adkins, the interim senior associate dean of students and associate vice president for student affairs, will no longer work at the College after March of 2021.
The current dean of students staff includes Myrna Hernández as the vice president for student affairs and dean of students, Ashley Benson as the associate dean of students for the class of 2021 and 2022, Amy Franklin-Craft as the director of student rights and responsibilities, Amy Egle as the executive assistant to the vice president for student affairs and Susan Remark as the administrative coordinator.