Res Life to hire soon

Residence Life is finally looking to fill the Director of Residence Life position, which has been vacant since Oct. 1, when Sandi Scott-Duex left for UW-Stout.

“I only worked with Sandi for a brief moment and it was something special to me,” said Assistant Director of Resident Life and Community Development Kenney White.

Friday, Nov. 1, Residence Life hosted an Open Forum for the candidates applying for the position of Director of Residence Life.

“I imagine there are many individuals across Student Affairs or any connections with Residence Life that will apply,” White said.

The recruitment process, for open positions like the Director of Residence Life, is a series of different stages. “The Open Forum is an opportunity for those applying to take part in on-site interviews,” said Human Resources staff Brenda Creighton.

Creighton is involved in recruitment for academic staff, administration and faculty at UW-River Falls.

Phone screenings, on-site interviews and reference checking are all included in the hiring system the University utilizes.

“It’s a very lengthy process, but we want to make sure we are an equal opportunity employer,” Creighton said.

Both Creighton and White refused to comment on what specific qualifications they were seeking in the new Director of Residence Life.

The UWRF Human Resource’s page on the University website spells out the guidelines and qualifications the University seeks in terms of a new Director of Residence Life; an innovative and service oriented leader are some of the mentioned characteristics.

Whoever fills the vacant position will be expected to report to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. They will also be responsible for fostering a student living environment that supports and complements the mission of the University, as outlined in the job description posted online.

The mission of the Department of Residence Life is to create residential communities where students live civilly, learn effectively and discover success.

“I’m loving the dorm life, meeting new people daily is pretty awesome,” said freshman Alex Carr about living on campus.

With the current policy, UWRF has approximately 2,500 students living on campus. “The candidate must have a multitude of different strengths for qualification, and that’s all I can say,” White said.

Scott-Deux’s time at UWRF proved to be a success. She implemented many changes, including the online application for housing.

The vacancy of Scott-Deux has been over 30 days. “I’m not sure why it hasn’t been filled yet, but I do know we need to have a valid application pool,” Creighton commented.

“We take into consideration gender, race and ethnicity along with several checks and balances that align with the University standards.”

During the past 30 days, there has been no interim Director of Residence Life.

“Nobody has taken on the full role as a substitute until we fill the position,” White said.

Nearly two months ago, the University set a deadline for applicants. The Director of Residence Life job posting states that for full consideration, applicants should submit all required materials by Aug. 30, 2013.

“We hope it will be filled in the coming weeks,” Creighton said. “There are a lot of variables and factors to evaluate the candidates.”