Five months after the arrival of Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta, the division is set to undergo major structural changes as it sets its agenda for the semester.
The restructuring, the first of its kind since the mid-1990s, is designed to meet Moneta's goal of a more efficient, seamless administration of student affairs.
Headlining the changes will be a new assistant vice president for student affairs who will supervise cultural groups and student advising, the dismantling of the Office of Student Development, the consolidation of all residential life and housing services and the creation of an office for greek life.
Moneta said he did not yet know the physical location of each office, and he has separated the division into seven components.
Residential Life
The new Office of Residential Life and Housing Services will consolidate all aspects of undergraduate housing, including assignments, housing management--which transferred from Auxiliary Services last July--and a cadre of residential coordinators and quadrangle officers. Coordinators will be hired throughout the spring, and the division will conduct a national search for the new office's director.
Moneta's said he hopes the new office will make residential life more seamless for students, uniting facility, academic and social aspects of residential life. Last fall, Moneta began reorganizing residential life by revamping the quadrangle system.
"I think this restructuring, particularly at this time, makes sense," said Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Sue Wasiolek. "The reason the functions were merged seven or eight years ago with residential life was to improve communications, make our overall relations with students clearer, stronger and more meaningful."
Student Life
The rest of what currently falls under Student Development--greek life, Judicial Affairs and orientation--will now fall under the supervision of Wasiolek, who will also assume the title of Dean of Students.
"We're going to acknowledge her service," Moneta said. "As a dean, she is our front-line officer and responds to student needs."
Wasiolek held the title of Dean for Students in the 1980s before the Office of Student Development was created--when student services and residential services were separate offices, as they will be now.
Wasiolek currently controls alumni affairs, graduate and professional programs and events such as Parents' Weekend, but the three areas she will now additionally oversee will undergo major changes.
Most notably, there will be a distinct Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, with increased staffing. The greek life office will concentrate exclusively on greek issues, maintain contact with national representatives and alumni and remain separate from the new residential life office.
"I want to finally debunk the underlying mythology that Duke wants to get rid of its fraternities and sororities," said Moneta, noting the office will advise the minority National Panhellenic Council and a growing number of multicultural sororities in addition to the traditionally white Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council.
Assistant Dean of Student Development Todd Adams said the office will help develop more of a greek community by incorporating all advising into one office.
Judicial Affairs will also consider its role, and administrators will likely assemble a working group this spring to improve it.
Moneta said he hopes the office will become less cumbersome and more consistent in its application.
Orientation, under the supervision of Assistant Dean of Student Development Ryan Lombardi, has been under review since last fall. Wasiolek said she hopes orientation will become more intellectual. Suggestions include stretching activities throughout the first semester and requiring a reading assignment for all freshmen before matriculation.
Student Activities
The division will also hire another assistant vice president for student affairs, who will coordinate the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture, the Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Life, the Women's Center, the International House, the Community Service Center and the Office of Intercultural Affairs. "[The new vice president] will have supervision and budget overview and will take time to work on serving student groups and furthering our diversity agenda," Moneta said.
University Life will undergo the greatest changes. It will eschew all of its arts programming--Duke Artists Series, Chamber Arts Society and the Summer Festival of the Arts--and focus instead on student advising. Moneta said the Duke Institute for the Arts will take over those duties in order to centralize arts programming efforts.
Susan Coon, dean of university life, said her office will also play an integral role in gathering input for the renovation of Moneta's vision of a student village, including the Bryan Center, the Flowers Building and the West Union Building.
Other Services
Resource Administration, which oversees processes such as budgeting and financial functions, will not change, nor will Counseling and Psychological Services. Moneta said he is satisfied with the Career Center's services but that once a new director is hired, changes may follow, including the establishment of better facilities.
Finally, Student Health will be united in Duke Clinic by next fall. Although the plan must be approved by the Board of Trustees at its February meeting, Moneta said the student infirmary, now located in Pickens Health Center, will join the Healthy Devil in the new location.
Dr. Bill Christmas, director of student health, said his department was in the midst of gaining approvals from a variety of offices and committees and is working with new architects to refine plans.
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