Search committee members are meeting this week to finalize their decision on who will become Northwestern’s first coordinator for Asian and Asian-American Student Services.
The committee, comprising NU professors, students and student affairs employees, reviewed more than 30 applications earlier this month and met with five finalists for the position last week, said Mary Desler, assistant vice-president for Student Affairs and search committee chairwoman.
Desler said the group put on a national advertising campaign that involved sending out messages to Asian-American listservs and many Big Ten schools with similar positions in order to find applicants with previous advising experience. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and two years of full-time experience at the position, Desler said.
The new coordinator will be an advocate for students and student groups on campus, and will try to improve communication between organizations. Desler said the job will entail planning New Student Week activities, attending executive board and committee meetings, and sending out information about programs and scholarships. Most importantly, the coordinator will provide an extra set of ears.
“We want someone who will understand the environment here,” Desler said. “(The person) has to have knowledge of issues that face Asian Americans. It’s great to know that there is somebody to go to that can help you without having to have everything absolutely explained.”
Desler said the committee presented the proposal to the University Budget Committee last fall and finished receiving applications earlier in the summer.
After speaking to candidates recently, the committee learned that the coordinator position isn’t commonplace at universities across the country – showing that NU is responsive to student needs, Desler said.
NU added a coordinator for Hispanic and Latino Student Services three years ago and has had a similar position for black students since the 1970s, Desler said. With about 13 Asian-American student groups on campus, however, many students and staff felt the administration was ignoring their population.
“While we’re happy with the position being filled, it should have happened awhile ago,” said Marie Claire Tran, chairwoman of the Asian-American Advisory Board, the largest Asian-American student group on campus. “We’re long overdue.”
Tran, who pushed to get the coordinator and serves on the search committee, said requests for the position were made as long ago as 1991 by leaders of her group – a move that it hoped would lead to the now-installed Asian-American studies minor.
Now that NU has provided groups like AAAB with a coordinator, Tran, a Weinberg senior, has many ideas for what qualities the candidate should possess. She said a passion for Asian-American issues, a knowledge of what affects students today and an understanding of how students play a role in the community is vital.
Once implemented, the new coordinator should provide stability and much-needed support to Asian-American students and groups, as well as helping with ideas for recruitment, Tran said.
“Student groups have a high turnover rate and it’s hard to transfer knowledge,” Tran said. “This position will help with that.”
