Students and faculty members from all facets of campus life will be represented on the search committee formed to select a new associate dean of students by the end of May.
The associate deanship was vacated by Dean of Students Bruce Reitman last year when Reitman became Tufts' dean of students, replacing Bobbie Knable, who retired after 30 years at the University. Acting Associate Dean of Students Lisa Smith-McQueenie was hired to serve until the end of the fiscal year and is one of the candidates for the permanent position.
Reitman is the chair of the search committee, and will help review candidate applications in March. Finalists will be invited to campus in April.
Advertisements seeking candidates for the position have been listed in the Chronicles of Higher Education, Black Issues in Higher Education, and Hispanic Outlook, as well as on the Tufts website. According to Reitman, there has been great response from all over the country.
Tufts has received over 70 applications, Reitman said, adding that he expects to hire the new associate dean by June 1.
Representatives from the Graduate Student Council, the Public Safety Department, the directors of Residential Life and Judicial Affairs, two senior staff members from the dean of students office, two students from the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate, two Resident Advisors, and representatives from the Ethnic Cultural Committee _ a body that deals with campus issues of intolerance _ will comprise the search committee, along with Sr. Human Resources representative Tom Bagarella and Dean of Academic Services and Student Affairs Kristine Dillon.
The diversity of representatives who will serve on the committee parallels the scope of activities that fall under the Associate Dean of Students position.
"The most important thing is that [the dean] likes students and wants to be here to be an advocate for students and help create systems responsive to student needs" Reitman said.
Functions of the associate dean include responding to campus and student emergencies, such as the downhill power failure last semester, intervening to solve the problem, and following up to ensure the solution is implemented. The associate dean is also responsible for Residential Life operations.
Because the associate dean of students is constantly on-call for emergencies, it is vital that the person have a flexible schedule. Whether it be a health crisis, a power failure, or the a Bendetson Hall sit-in, the associate dean must be prepared to drop everything and immerse him or herself in a day full of unexpected events.
"On occasion, you only get a few hours of sleep," said Reitman, who occupied the position for 15 years. "I'm not unhappy about giving that up," he said. The associate dean of students, he said, must have a love for mediation and arbitration.
Reorganization within the Dean of Students Office and the unification of Student and Academic Services at Dowling Hall called for the selection of an interim associate dean until the associate dean of students position could be redefined for the new context. Although there has been no permanent associate dean for almost a year, Reitman said the search for the candidate is on schedule and that having interim employees is not uncommon for Tufts. "We may even have an interim president," he said.
When the acting associate dean of students took her position last year, Reitman had not yet been selected as the dean of students. After the reconfiguration of Student and Academic Services, which included transporting all materials from Ballou to Dowling Hall, the Dean of Students office underwent multiple changes.
"[It was] a changing landscape for the Student Life division," Reitman said. "How and with whom we work changed completely."
An updated job description for the Associate Dean of Students position was written last fall. Besides the general impact of the Student Services project on how each office operates, the creation of a Judicial Affairs division, which previously fell under the Associate Dean of Students office, further changed the role of the Associate Dean of Students. Veronica Carter, who formerly served as Reitman's assistant in judicial affairs, was selected to head the new position.
Other positions that remain vacant within Academic and Student Services include Program Support, the Student Services desk, and the Technical Division. Student Services is still working to define its role, and will continue to hone its activities during its first few years in Dowling. Online registration and the block schedule changes, for example, are projects that will affect the inner workings of Student Services.
Once the Associate Dean of Students is selected in June, he or she will have the summer, a slow time at the University, to get accustomed to the job. But at the start of the next semester, the new dean will take on a number of projects, including an initiative regarding housing capacity on campus.
