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SU Division of Student Affairs announces organizational improvementsJune 21, 2006Kevin Morrowkdmorrow@syr.edu

To better pursue ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s vision for Scholarship in Action, the Division of Student Affairs has announced a realignment of offices and personnel, effective July 1. The move is intended to improve professional staff members’ pursuit of excellence in their service to students; increase the quality of access and support for students; and create new opportunities for students and staff to engage with the world.

“With the right personnel and infrastructure, the division will be poised to expand on its tremendous contributions to student life at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ and to lead the way in creating national and international best practices in student affairs,” says Barry L. Wells, senior vice president and dean of students. “As Student Affairs takes the next step in achieving Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s vigorous agenda, I am profoundly confident that we have the right women and men in place to succeed on behalf of our students.”

The realignment includes redefinition of positions, new positions, promotions and departures. The highlights are as follows:

In his executive role as a member of the Chancellor’s Cabinet and senior student affairs officer of the University, Wells will relocate his office and the headquarters of the Office of the Senior Vice President for Student Affairs (OSVP), to Crouse-Hinds Hall later this summer. Elsewhere in OSVP, Kristen Jones-Kolod, director of budget and operations, will gain enhanced responsibility for financial management of the division and oversight of the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Box Office. Lawrence Quaglia will become director of information technology, in recognition of his track record of successful collaboration across the Division of Student Affairs.

The Office of the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs (OAVP), headed by Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Jeanne S. Steffes, will continue in its current responsibilities and will assume the staff recognition and professional staff development responsibilities currently associated with OSVP.

The Dean of Students Office will assume many of OSVP’s current responsibilities for student services, and will be consolidated in 306 Steele Hall. It will be led by Anastasia L. Urtz, who will be promoted to associate vice president and dean of students. In partnership with the division’s senior leadership team, Urtz will have responsibility for functional, day-to-day direction of divisional operations. Also in the Dean of Students Office, a new position, director of the Dean of Students Office, will manage office operations; and Mary Jo Custer, director of student affairs, will manage Student Affairs’ student retention services and student recognition initiatives, and co-chair SU’s Critical Incident Management Team.

An Office of Student Life will be established, housed in the Schine Student Center and reporting to the Dean of Students Office. It will replace the current Office of Greek Life and Experiential Learning and will assume many of the responsibilities handled within the current Dean of Students Office: student events, student engagement, fraternity and sorority affairs, the Team Against Bias and student grievance processes. The Office of Student Life will be led by Juanita Perez Williams, who will be promoted to the position of associate dean of students from her current role as director of judicial affairs. Within the Office of Student Life, Roy W. Baker has been appointed director of fraternity and sorority affairs in order to build on his success in revitalizing the SU Greek community and managing student involvement initiatives; Ellen F. King, director of student events, will gain responsibility for advising student performance organizations; and a new director of student engagement will advise the Student Association, the Graduate Student Organization, University Union and other high-profile student organizations.

National searches will be conducted for two positions reporting to Urtz: the director of judicial affairs; and a new position, director of prevention services, which has been created to manage the renamed Substance Abuse Prevention and Health Enhancement (S.A.P.H.E.) Program and the University Rape: Advocacy, Prevention, and Education (R.A.P.E.) Center following Associate Dean of Students Dessa Bergen-Cico’s move to the faculty.

In Light Work/Community Darkrooms, where director Jeffrey Hoone was recently promoted to executive director of the Coalition of Museums and Art Centers (CMAC), Hannah E. Frieser will become director, from her current position as associate director.

Though the above transitions do not take effect until July 1, staff have already begun work to ensure a smooth, rapid change. “With the goals set in our most recent five-year strategic plan achieved, these changes create the conditions necessary for continued strategic advancement of the Division of Student Affairs,” says Wells. “As we work in an increasingly complex fiscal and fundraising environment, and enjoy new successes brought to us by the Chancellor’s vision of Scholarship in Action, our students will benefit from having the right team of people in place to support and engage them in learning and personal development.”