Months after the Multi-Cultural Center requested and received nearly $39,000 to create a director position, the spot remains empty.
After receiving 20 applications for the opening, the MCC hiring committee narrowed it down to three candidates in early May. The job was offered to two of the candidates, who both declined the position.
“The candidates decided it wasn’t a good move for them and their families, [because] this wasn’t the right place for them,” said director of student activities, Greg Lobisser.
The MCC director position was created to bring continuity to a program that, like many other student-run organizations, experiences a high turnover rate as students graduate from the University. The MCC serves as an umbrella organization, supporting a number of cultural and ethnic student unions and groups on campus.
Now, the problem isn’t just filling the position, but having the pieces in the right place to even consider making a decision.
“I have visited with the search committee, and members of the MCC, but additional consultation has to occur,” Lobisser said. Most of the people needed to help make the decision are gone for the summer, Lobisser said, which makes moving forward difficult.
Two options are currently being explored by Lobisser and the search committee. First, the possibility of a interim director has been discussed, which would allow the MCC to move forward with its goals. Or, the hiring committee can conduct a search to create a new pool of applicants.
“Conducting a search for a permanent director is an inevitable part of what we’re going to do,” Lobisser said.
The decision now remains to hire an interim director for the remainder of the summer and during the school year, or to bypass it all together to await hiring an individual to fill the position permanently.
“If an interim director can’t make the transition between summer and fall with the students back, it’s probably not a good thing to do,” Lobisser said. Although the committee could decide soon which option to take, Lobisser said that meeting with more students is the best route to go.
“It’s just hard getting people together during the summer,” he said.
ASUO President Jay Breslow stressed that he really hopes to fill the position before fall rolls around. However, he is in agreement with Lobisser that “the committee’s goal with hiring is to make it as inclusive as possible,” and would include the input of more students, especially those involved with the MCC or one of the other cultural or ethnic organizations.
“We anticipated this search would be complex, because it’s a student-funded position, and it’s a new position,” Lobisser said. “The MCC staff feels passionately about their program, so there is a big investment in this hire.”
Lobisser and Breslow will meet today to further discuss the committee’s direction.