As Vice President for Student Affairs William Banis prepares to retire by August 31, the search for his replacement is in full swing.
Shortly after Banis announced his retirement, a search committee consisting of 17 faculty, staff and students was formed to determine what community members most wanted in the next VPSA and to select candidates for Provost Daniel Linzer’s eventual consideration.
The vice president for student affairs is responsible for all students in the university, graduate and undergraduate and oversees a number of offices, including Counseling and Psychological Services, Multicultural Student Affairs and University Residential Life.
The committee hopes to finish its part of the search process by the end of the calendar year, said Ron Braeutigam, chair of the committee.
The VPSA position is one of many the University is looking to fill. Others include the dean of the Feinberg School of Medicine and dean of the law school.
Braeutigam, the associate provost for undergraduate education, said the VPSA committee is currently collecting applications. He said the committee had more than 24 outreach meetings over the spring and summer with members of the NU community.
The committee also helped write a position profile for the next VPSA. The profile emphasizes the importance of improving the undergraduate experience. The person will have to execute Schapiro’s plans for more residential communities and other changes to housing, oversee renovations and “increase students’ access” to Evanston and Chicago via experiential learning and community involvement initiatives.
Students at NU identify themselves strongly with various groups and associations rather than with the University, something which needs to change, according to the position profile.
“The next VPSA will be expected to help build an inclusive sense of community that transcends some of these more immediate affiliations,” the profile states.
Still, Braeutigam said the position profile has not changed significantly since Banis was hired. He emphasized that the next VPSA will also be responsible for improving graduate and professional student life.
It’s difficult to tell how long it will take to select Banis’ successor, since negotiations must take place once the search committee submits potential candidates to Linzer, Braeutigam said.
Meanwhile, Banis, in his 17th year at NU, will spend the year continuing to work on a variety of issues, from the residential community project to the “third space” initiative.
“Bill is even working harder this year than ever before,” University President Morton Schapiro said in a meeting with The Daily earlier this month. “And he always worked hard.”
Schapiro credited Banis with much of the work that went into recent campus projects such as the opening of Fran’s Café and making improvements to Wildcat Welcome Week. He said Banis was going out “with a bang.”
“I want to make sure that there is no lack of momentum in my final year, that we continue advancing our programs and services as budgets permit,” Banis said.
