Search for new Housing director continues to prove elusive

Search for new Housing director continues to prove elusive

By Sarah Parker
News Staff
ATLANTA
November 20, 1998

At the beginning of Summer Quarter 1997, Terry Sichta stepped down from his position as Director of Housing to become the new Special Assistant to the Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Services. Now, more than a year later, Tech is still without a Director of Housing.

"Our Director of Housing position is somewhat more complex than others because our director has responsibilities for all facets of Housing: residence life, facilities operations and maintenance, conference services, and business operations, including the assignments process," explained Rosalind Meyers, Associate Vice-President of Auxiliary Services.

While many other institutions choose to divide housing duties among several departments, Meyers believes the more unified system in the hopes that is more beneficial to students.

"We think our method and organization provide a more comprehensive and cohesive approach to student housing, resulting in better programs, better facilities, and better business processes," said Meyers.

Another factor that comes into heavy consideration is the sheer size of the department of housing. Tech currently has 6,500 beds available, all of which are currently filled. Furthermore, a larger percentage of students live on campus than usual. Finding a director who has previous experience running large departments is imperative to Meyers.

Auxiliary Services has hired a professional consulting firm to expedite the search for a new director. The firm has already produced several candidates that Meyers considers "viable."

They will be responsible for conducting the first round of interviews, which is scheduled to begin November 23. Any candidates they find acceptable at that point will be referred to the search committee, student groups, and other administrators for further interviews.

Meyers hopes to begin the second round of interviews in December. The proceedings may continue into January because of the holidays.

"We hope to appoint a permanent director by early next year," she said. Staff writer Laura Anderson contributed to this article.

Copyright © 1998 by Gregory S. Scherrer, Editor and by the Student Publications Board

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