The search to hire a new full time dean for greek life has not yet begun. Dean of Students Mark Smith said this is due to a “vacancy management” institute-wide policy. He stated that the policy has effectively stopped any new hiring searches from beginning until July 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year. A waiver can be used, however, to request a search begin prior to this date, On the other hand, Vice President for Human Resources Curtis Powell said this is a normal procedure.
Smith said that a vacancy management policy was put into place late last year and that searches already began were allowed to continue. Any new searches from that point on, however, would only be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
According to Powell, these procedures are not anything new. He pointed out that July 1 is a fairly common date for people in academia to begin in new positions, partly due to that fact that it falls during the break between semesters. He said that perhaps this seemed new because departments may not have had to fill vacancies before, or these policies may not have been brought to their attention.
Powell also said that the normal timeline for many searches is three to six months, and that part of the decision of when to start one is based upon how long and wide it is expected to be. He stated that if the search is expected to be a longer one, it should start earlier to reflect that.
When Brian Dominguez resigned from the post last October, Travis Apgar, who also serves as associate dean of students and senior judicial administrator, was named acting dean for greek life. Smith said that the goal was to begin the search for a new greek dean around the beginning of the new calendar year, but that the vacancy management policy was already in effect by that point.
Smith said that he wrote up a waiver requesting that the search to fill the position begin prior to July 1. He explained that Vice President for Student Life Eddie Knowles confirmed receipt of the request and was going to review it; Knowles is the one who would need to send the waiver to human resources.
According to Smith, the greek dean position is “an integral part of the overall operation and it is an important connection with greek life—with students, alumni.” He said that everyone in Dean of Students Office has “stepped up to the plate and [that they] continue to do exemplary service,” but that having less staff to manage their workload does make it more difficult. He indicated that both the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council “are supportive of the waiver.”
Smith said that he did not recall any other time that this policy was implemented in prior years. He explained that it was put into place for budgetary reasons to ensure that the Institute could break-even without having to reduce the current workforce.
The dean of students said he didn’t think RPI was opposed to beginning the search, but that they just want to ensure there are enough funds for it. He said he expected to hear back on the waiver by the beginning of March.
In the meantime, the Student Senate unanimously “urge[d] the administration to begin a search to fill the Greek Dean vacancy and to fill this position as expeditiously as possible while still ensuring the selection of a candidate capable of nurturing, supporting, and ensuring the continued success of RPI’s Greek system.” A copy of that resolution was included in a memo sent to Knowles, Vice President for Finance Virginia Gregg, and Vice President for Human Resources Curtis Powell by Grand Marshal Mike Dillon.
Kumar Jambunathan, president of the IFC echoed a similar sentiment. He stated via e-mail, “Basically, the person who is suffering most is Travis Apgar. He is trying to fulfill several administrative roles, one of them being greek dean.” He also said, “It would be great to hear that the position of greek dean, which represents about [a significant portion] of RPI’s campus, was trying to be filled more aggressively, both for the good of the students as well as the administration at RPI.”
According to Powell, once the expedited beginning of the search is officially requested, it will most likely be approved, saying that the various portfolios of the Institute each manage their vacancies. He stated that he believes students want to be involved in this hiring process, and indeed, the plan is to include students. He said that often it takes time before the interviews begin and he suggested it might make sense to wait until students return to campus rather than doing them during finals. He said, “I don’t think we have to go to this extreme” to determine when the search for this position begins.
