Positions vacated, re-assigned in NU administration

Interim Dean of Students Burgie Howard greets students Rex Hupy, Cresence Birder and Danielle Siegel
during Wildcat Welcome Week. Ray Whitehouse/The Daily Northwestern

As Northwestern welcomes a new president, the administration is also undergoing changes, with student affairs positions being vacated and re-assigned.

The position of assistant to Vice President of Student Affairs William Banis, formerly filled by Burgie Howard, will now be filled by ex-Multicultural Student Affairs Executive Director Carretta Cooke. The role of Dean of Students, formerly filled by Mary Desler, will now be filled on an interim basis by Howard.

Although the appointments were made from within NU’s administration, the turnover could fundamentally change student life. For example, NU Residential Life and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life will now report directly to Banis, both of which formerly reported to Desler. Desler will take on a part-time role as senior assessment analyst in the department of Student Affairs.

In the shift of administrative roles, Cooke stepped down from the post of MSA executive director, effective Sept. 1. Tamara Johnson will serve as interim director of MSA, according to an e-mail co-signed by President Morton Schapiro and Provost Daniel Linzer.

“We didn’t want to go into an academic year without having that position filled with someone who is ready, willing and able to help students,” Howard said of Johnson, who was previously the assistant director of career development.

The administration will likely not name either a permanent dean of students or an MSA director during the 2009-2010 school year, Banis said.

“These searches take a while,” Banis said. “You don’t just pluck someone out of the labor pile and put them into the position.”

Cooke moves to new position

Cooke was named MSA executive director in April 2004, the same year MSA was founded. Banis declined to comment as to why Cooke left her position with MSA, which is comprised of African American Student Affairs, Asian/Asian American Student Affairs and Hispanic/Latino Student Affairs.

Alex Sims, president of Promote 360, a minority empowerment group within the School of Education and Social Policy, said multicultural group leaders have been voicing their concerns about Cooke for much of her tenure.

On May 18, several multicultural group leaders delivered a packet to five Northwestern administrators and four professors that discussed their “lack of confidence” in Cooke.

Associated Student Government President Mike McGee said members of the administration, including Banis and Linzer, met with McGee and multicultural student group leaders to discuss MSA’s status at the end of last year.

“What we felt … is that communication and leadership was not there,” said McGee, a Communication senior. “They didn’t feel confident that Carretta Cooke was the person they could trust.”

Amy Zhu, president of the Asian Pacific American Coalition, said students thought Cooke was ineffective as an advocate for MSA to the rest of the administration.

“The biggest thing is that she wasn’t there for us,” the Weinberg senior said. “How can you be an advocate without getting to know the students and the groups?”

The administration will meet with student leaders Friday to discuss the future of MSA. McGee, who formerly sat on the executive board of For Members Only, said removing Cooke is only the start of improving MSA.

“Our thing wasn’t just to get Carretta Cooke (removed),” McGee said. “We’re not done yet.”

Students involved with MSA want the organization to take on a more active role in the NU community. Sims said the groups involved should collaborate more than in the past, including monthly meetings for the Coalition of Colors, an alliance of minority student groups. As of now, Coalition of Colors members only meet formally once a year to discuss ASG endorsements.

“Clearly, the university agreed it was time for change,” said Sims, a SESP senior. “(Cooke) is a good person and she does mean well, but her skills could be used better in another position.”

Dean of students

Howard, now in his fifth year at NU, took over as interim dean of students on July 1. While the administration will hold a national search for a permanent administrator, Howard said they had already missed the job search cycle for administrators at the time Desler announced her retirement in late May.

“There’s a lot to do here, so you can’t run shorthanded for too long,” Howard said. “Sometimes people need to step up and do what the team needs. It’s a great opportunity.”

Howard will stay in his interim position for the 2009-2010 school year, and will remain with the university in some capacity after the year is over. He will be one of the candidates in the national search for a new dean, he said.

With Desler’s retirement, the Student Affairs department will see a shift in responsibilities.

“It’s kind of an interesting year to try something new, do some things to shake things up, establish some new patterns because we have new leadership at the university,” Howard said.

He added that the administration is trying to create a more common experience for students similar to last school year’s oNe Northwestern campaign. Under Howard, this year’s Wildcat Welcome included a new event called March through the Arch, during which all new students walked past campus landmarks such as The Rock and Deering Field, and learned about NU traditions.

“Making people feel like they have a place in the community… is a real key,” Howard said. “We may be six schools, but we’re one university.”

In addition to working with Howard in the past, McGee participated in the March through the Arch, and said he wished his class had done a similar event.

“He’s a great choice,” McGee said. “Even though he’s in an interim position, I think he’s very capable.”

Howard said while his position is thought of by many students as a disciplinary one, he is working in the interest of students, not against them.

“Obviously if you’re the person who has to come before and have a meeting with the dean or you have to go to a disciplinary hearing, that’s what people tend to think of from the dean’s office,” Howard said. “The dean’s office is really there to support and advocate for students. We don’t necessarily seek credit for those things.”

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