Last Friday, Brian Dominguez resigned from his position of assistant dean of students for greek life. While the position is vacant, Travis Apgar, associate dean of students and senior judicial administrator, will also serve as the acting dean for greek life. According to Dean of Students Mark Smith, Dominguez’s departure did not come as a surprise, saying that he left to pursue other “opportunities.”
While Smith and Apgar would not comment on what they thought of Dominguez’s job performance, the president of the interfraternity council, Charles Centrelli, did. According to Centrelli, “Brian is a really nice guy,” but the executive board of the IFC did not “feel he was the right fit” for the position. He pointed out that the IFC felt that they did not have great lines of communication with Dominguez. Centrelli also said that while he was not surprised that Dominguez resigned, he was surprised that the resignation came in the middle of the semester.
This is not Apgar’s first time in the greek dean position, nor is it the first time he has served in both of his current roles. He started at RPI as assistant dean of students for greek life in June of 2000 and served in that role until Dominguez arrived in March of last year. He was also named the associate dean of students and senior judicial administrator in August of 2002 and thus served in both positions simultaneously for a number of months. He said that serving in both positions at once “takes a lot of prioritization,” and it also takes support.
Apgar and Smith both felt that it was unlikely that there would be a conflict of interest while Apgar serves in both positions. They explained that Apgar will not adjudicate cases involving the greek system and that if he needs to choose which responsibilities to fulfill in a specific situation, he will act as the greek dean.
Apgar said that there will not be much change in policy because of the change in leadership and he said that he tends to be rather straight-forward and consistent. He continued, “I’m the kind of person that puts my expectations clearly out on the table.”
Speaking for the IFC, Centrelli said, “We’re exited to be working with Travis … We know that he has our interests at heart.” Echoing the sentiment expressed by Apgar, he also stated that the IFC is expecting the “lines of communication to be a lot more clear and open.”
Smith said that they hope to start the search for a new assistant dean “as soon as possible,” and that both external and internal candidates would be considered. He also stated that the search committee that is charged with finding a replacement for Dominguez will include members of the greek system as well as students from other leadership bodies.
The Panhellenic Association could not be reached for comment.
