Campus invited to meet associate dean finalists

A search-and-screen committee has identified five finalists for two vacant associate dean positions in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Offices of the Dean of Students (ODOS).

During the next month, students, faculty and staff are invited to meet the finalists and provide input and feedback ahead of final selections by Dean of Students Lori Berquam.

Associate deans play a key leadership role in ODOS, assisting in strategic planning efforts and representing Berquam in her absence.

The positions have responsibility for supervising the Student Advocacy and Judicial Affairs team and a wide range of units in ODOS, including International Student Services, the McBurney Disability Resource Center and the Associated Students of Madison, among others.

All five candidates will be considered for each of the two vacancies.

During the day of their campus visits, each candidate will have an open faculty and staff interview forum at 3:30 p.m. in Memorial Union (check Today in the Union for room location), as well as an open interview session for interested students at 4:45 p.m. in the MSC Lounge of the Red Gym.

In order of their upcoming visits, the finalists are:

• Richard Olshak, associate dean of students at Illinois State University, Normal, Ill. Olshak works on a number of areas in the dean’s office, including student government, "town-gown" initiatives and off-campus and nontraditional student services. His visit will be held Tuesday, July 10.
• Argyle Wade, director of Housing and Residence Life at Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Mo. Wade leads the housing office serving 3,400 residents and employing approximately 50 professionals and 200 students. He will visit on Wednesday, July 11.
• Kerry Welch, director of the Office of Student Involvement at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, Fla. The office manages student government, the Multicultural Student Center and student organization registration. His visit will be held on Tuesday, July 17.
• Kevin Helmkamp, interim associate dean of students at UW–Madison and assistant director of University Housing. Helmkamp took on the interim role in ODOS in June 2006, while continuing to manage numerous academic programs and services in University Housing. His visit will be held Wednesday, July 18.
• Rajesh Bellani, special assistant to the vice president/dean of the college at Colgate University, Colgate, N.Y. He previously served as dean of the Sophomore Year Experience there. His visit will be held Thursday, July 19.

The new associate deans will fill positions held on an interim basis by Helmkamp and Elton Crim, who is moving to a position as clinical professor of higher and postsecondary education in the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis Program (ELPA) in the School of Education.

Final hiring decisions are expected in August, with an anticipated start date around the start of the semester. The search committee is chaired by Cathy Trueba, director of the McBurney Center.