Ashley Lemke | Assistant News Co-Editor
Prioritization of programs at BVU over the past year created changes that were positive for the university but left things a little shaky for some areas, in particular, Student Affairs.
After Director of Student Activities and Leadership at Buena Vista University Becka Neary-DeLaPorte left, the search began for what became the new position title of Director of Student Engagement Equity and Diversity.
Throughout the summer, a team made up of faculty, staff, and students searched for a candidate they hoped would be “student-centered, had programming capabilities, student friendly, approachable, and would appreciate a small private liberal arts college,” according to Dr. Ashley Farmer-Hanson, Director of Civic Engagement at Buena Vista University and chair of the search.
“What we really want is someone who is excited to work hands on with students and excited to step into a director level position and put their own mark on it,” explained Dale Scully, Vice President & Dean of Students at Buena Vista University.
Essentially, the position includes what Neary-DeLaPorte formerly did, which included the duty of overseeing SAB (Student Activities Board) as well as some of what the former Director of Multicultural Engagement, Carol Williams, did, such as overseeing MELT (Multicultural Engagement Leadership Team).
As the summer came to a close, the search team knew they had not found the right candidate to fill the position for the upcoming school year.
According to Farmer-Hanson, the team found that the applicants coming in were overqualified for the job. They did not want to just fill the position frivolously, but wanted to find the candidate that would fit the qualifications they were searching for.
Student Affairs came up with a “plan B” in order to ensure that the programs being handled by that position would run smoothly and have adequate supervision.
The search is currently closed and will open back up in mid-October with a few important changes that Scully says will greatly increase the chances of hiring the right candidate.
The first change, Farmer-Hanson said, is that “the job title will be changed to something a little more specific to what we’re looking for in Student Affairs.”
Next, there will be a few changes made to the job description in order to appropriately reflect the new job title, which has yet to be revealed. Finally, the team is hoping a few new marketing strategies will make quite a difference in applicants.
The time of year the position is advertised will also create a brand new pool of applicants who are ready for a mid-year transition to a new institution. Ultimately, the university wants to hire a suitable candidate for a January 1st or 2nd start date.
Farmer-Hanson admits that not hiring a person to oversee MELT and SAB was a risky decision, but Student Affairs has a plan to make sure things go on without the position being filled.
“That was a tough decision,” Scully explained. “We didn’t want to lower our standards in order to get the right fit for the position. It just didn’t feel it was the right thing to do.”
“Plan B” consists of two RHDs (Resident Hall Directors) who are overseeing the programs.
Adam Wallander, the RHD in Pierce/White is assisting SAB along with Scully. Emily Felton, the suites RHD is overseeing MELT along with Farmer-Hanson. In addition, Brooke Paulsen, the Office Manager of the GSLC “is doing an amazing job stepping up and being a great professional for both organizations and really being a go-to person for those organizations,” Scully added.
Big changes mean apprehensions are bound to arise.
SAB General Member, Kaylie Plowman voiced her concerns about the new plan. “I don’t think it should be mostly left up to students to do all the planning because we also have lives and our first priority should be school,” she said.
Much of the responsibility for planning SAB events do fall on the students, but luckily the entire Student Affairs staff has switched up their roles, taking on additional duties in order to pick up the slack. SAB will continue to put on free, fun events for everyone on campus.
“With change there always comes ebbs and flows. Change is hard for everyone. We’ve seen people with some frustration, and a great deal of understanding from the campus and students. I’ve just been really appreciative particularly those in MELT and SAB just really stepping up into leadership roles and being patient with us as we go through these changes, being very helpful and understanding. They know we are really trying to get the best fit,” Farmer-Hanson said.
