Staff changes continue in Student Affairs and Campus Life, searches for new candidates to conclude in the coming weeks

By Ella Tracy

Staff turnover has become a common tune in the last year, particularly in the Campus Life department and Student Affairs. After a major turnover during the Summer of 2025, the department has been continually rebuilding.  

But several newer staff members in Campus Life have left the university in the last few months alone, including Glenn Prince (Director of Residence Life), Mariah Lossing (Interim Dean of Students), and Angelo Herrera (Community Residence Coordinator). 

Already, plans are being put in place to replace those roles. 

Finalists for the Dean of Students positions are visiting campus the weeks of April 6 and 13. Jackie Font-Guzman, SVP of Student Affairs, Equity & Belonging, hopes to make an official offer to a candidate by the end of April. The new dean would ideally begin their role in June. 

Font-Guzman said that they are aiming to hire a temporary director of campus life to work for about 6 months. This would allow the new Dean of Students to lead a hiring process later in the summer and select a more permanent director who reports to the new dean. 

Ashley Larson, Associate Director of Residence Life, said that they had several final round interviews for the CRC position last week, with the process wrapping up this week (April 13). They will onboard a new CRC at the beginning of the summer. 

In the meantime, Font-Guzman gave the following suggestions for where to direct questions. Campus Life questions (clubs, student organizations, and activities) can be directed to Ellen Bakke, who will escalate to Kenneth Cooper, Dean of Equity and Belonging, if needed. Questions about Residence Life can go through Ashley Larson, who will escalate to Font-Guzman as needed. 

Cooper shared a statistic from NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) that ⅔ of Residence Life staff nation-wide have been in their positions for less than 2 years. Font-Guzman said that the Student Affairs, Equity & Belonging department is strengthening professional development over the summer and is planning a staff retreat to help with staff retention, in addition to promoting staff from within where appropriate. 

“As administrators, we have to follow a formalized process… even for something as simple as making a hire,” Cooper added. “It requires multiple steps of co-creation and buy-in. But we recognize that when we start with those pieces, retention is better and that in turn is better for everyone. It’s slower and more methodical, but we want to produce a better outcome for everybody.”