Tufts hopes to hire a new director of fraternity and sorority life before the start of the fall semester, heading an office that has lacked permanent leadership for the majority of the past two years.
The position has been vacant since February, when former director Tanya McGinn Paolo, who started as director at the beginning of last semester, left Tufts with little explanation from the university as to the reason for her departure. Jamie Engle, who served as the coordinator of orientation and administration in the Undergraduate Orientation Office, took on the role as interim director as the university searched for a permanent replacement.
Before Paolo, the position sat vacant during the 2009-10 academic year, during which a flexible hiring freeze prevented the addition of a new director. During that time, Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman served as interim director while Engle took on some of the position's responsibilities.
The university has been searching for a new director since Paolo's departure, Engle said. Reitman told the Daily in March that he had hoped to hire a new director by the end of this semester, but Engle confirmed this month that Tufts aims to hire someone during the summer who could come to the Hill before the start of the fall semester.
"The earlier the better," she said, "so they can have more time to be acclimated to the Tufts campus and meet some of their colleagues and establish those relationships."
Inter-Greek Council President Eric Swanson, a rising senior, said that the recent lack of continuity in directors was largely attributed to former directors' personal decisions rather than flaws at Tufts.
"I don't think it's an issue with the Greek community or the Tufts community as a whole, but more so just personal decisions by the previous Greek directors," he said.
After reviewing applications and conducting phone interviews, Tufts brought several finalists to Tufts for on-campus interviews during late April and early May, Engle said. She would not comment on the number of finalists who have been interviewed on campus.
Though an official search committee does not exist, Engle said, many members of the community, such as representatives from Student Affairs, the Tufts University Police Department, the Community Relations Department and the Department of Judicial Affairs, among others, have been involved in the process.
Engle invited fraternity and sorority presidents, Greek council presidents and representatives from the Tufts Community Union Senate to give feedback on the visiting candidates.
The backgrounds of the applicants are varied, according to Engle.
"We've seen people from small institutions similar to Tufts and some from large state schools with enormous systems," she said. "Each of those candidates bring very valuable experience to Tufts University."
Outgoing Panhellenic Council President Dana Traub said the Greek community needs a director to serve as a liaison between it and the rest of the university.
"There are a lot of things we've gotten used to doing independently that we shouldn't and that we could do more effectively with someone who's present," Traub, a graduating senior, said.
Traub said that students often had to make rushed and disorganized decisions because there was no permanent director, citing Greek Week, a week of Greek-oriented events open to the larger Tufts community, as one example.
"Even though Greek Week was really successful this year, and we did more than we've ever done before and we had more participation … I do think that there was a lot of behind-the-scenes things going on at the last minute," she said.
The new director, Traub hoped, would work on improving the relationships between the Greek community and other communities, such as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center, as well as multicultural fraternities and sororities. An ideal candidate would be able to connect well with students and be able to represent students in communication with the administration, she said.
Outgoing Interfraternity Council President Elias Kahan, a rising junior, said that he would look for reliability in a new director.
"We're really just hoping to find someone who's able to stay with the community and be a rock that everyone could go to," he said.
Swanson hoped that the new director would communicate well with other staff members, something he said has been made difficult in the past by the placement of the Greek director's office in Curtis Hall, across campus from where most other administrators are based. The office will next year relocate to the Mayer Campus Center, he said.
"The office was kind of isolated," he said. "I think the transition from the old office to the campus center will definitely be beneficial to take away some of the difficulties that other directors have had in the past."
Traub similarly felt that the new director would face the challenge of improving the Greek community's relationship with the administration.
"Our campus is not perfect," she said. "Our relationship with the faculty and administration needs a lot of work."
Despite the discontinuity, Traub believed the Greek community has this year successfully encouraged collaboration between fraternities and sororities for philanthropic events.
"Each chapter has really grown and been more productive, but this year for the first time I saw multiple houses coming together," she said.
The community contributed to philanthropy this year by raising around $4,000 for Relay for Life through Party 4 Life, a series of five ticketed parties. Chapters also collaborated to donate Thanksgiving meals this year in an effort spearheaded by Delta Upsilon, and sororities raised nearly $1,300 for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center through the Walk for Change on April 10, according to Traub.
Still, she said, there was more to be done in improving Greek operations on campus. In particular, she hoped the new director would pursue the creation of a new sorority, as well as help organize more philanthropic events that do not involve alcohol.
Engle said that she had never intended to take on the position of director permanently and did not consider taking the job herself.
"It was never a part of the plan," she said. "I really enjoyed getting to know the students and working with the fraternities and sororities, but this isn't my particular area of student affairs that I see myself going into, so I'm happy that we'll be bringing in somebody."
Both Kahan and Traub said that Engle has been an effective interim director.
"She's definitely a big advocate for us and tried to work with the administration and faculty on things that she didn't even have to do. She went above and beyond," Traub said. "She does really care about the community, even if it's not her full-time job."
