Editorial: Auxiliary shake-up

With the impending retirement of Joe Pietrantoni, associate vice president for auxiliary services, and Jerry Black, director of facilities management, the University has decided to reorganize the Division of Auxiliary Services. Overall, this reorganization is an excellent idea that facilitates accomplishing several goals.

Pietrantoni should be commended for his efforts over the past three decades in building Auxiliary Services into what it is today. Despite complaints, one of the things that Duke does extremely well is providing services--such as dining and parking--to students, especially when compared to its major competitors. Moreover, Pietrantoni spearheaded the adoption of the DukeCard system, the first card access system at a University and still one of the most widely used systems.

Thus, the reorganization of Auxiliary Services should not be seen as a negative judgment on the division--it is one of the best parts of the University. However, it is impractical to expect someone to step into Pietrantoni's huge shoes.

Among the moves made in the reorganization is reassigning control of the DukeCard system and printing to the office of Tracy Fuhtey, vice president for information technology and chief information office. This move makes sense. The DukeCard is intimately related to technology and information, whereas much of the printing is digital in nature, again involving technology.

Another change is increased communication between Student Affairs and the scaled-back Auxiliary Services. The reorganization will certainly facilitate the kind of communication necessary between Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta and services such as dining, Duke University Stores, Event Management and postal services, all of which will be integral parts of the village that Moneta is seeking to build.

Ultimately, however, the University is better off with aspects of Auxiliary Services such as dining remaining separate from Student Affairs, even though Student Affairs has more input. Keeping Auxiliary Services separate prevents Student Affairs from unilaterally taking over the campus by requiring Student Affairs work with other departments, which will serve as a necessary check on the development of the village

While the retirements of Joe Pietrantoni and Jerry Black provide challenges for Auxiliary Services, the reorganization promises to improve service and communication, necessary steps as Duke moves into the future.