On-campus, interviews started this week for the newly created position of Assistant Director of Student Transitions, after narrowing the process of applicants over the last month.
Corrine Gibson, director of the office for inclusive excellence (which deals with transition, mentoring, inclusion and advocacy) said that the position was created for a few reasons.
“Our goal by creating this new position is to expand the number of students who can be reached and assisted through transitional periods during their time at SRU,” Gibson said.
Gibson said the term “transitional periods” is a broad one, as it covers a broad spectrum of the college experience. Transitions can come in the form of students graduating from high school and starting their freshmen year, or changing their major and focus of study. Personal changes with family or friends are also life transitions and will pose challenges to whomever receives the position.
“The assistant director will be tasked with implementing programs and methods geared toward helping students through these transitional periods in their life,” Gibson said. “This additional help will allow students to focus on succeeding in the classroom.”
David Wilmes, associate provost for student success, said he was enthusiastic about the potential of the new position and is eager to see how it evolves in the future.
“We have a program on campus called Jump Start that assists incoming freshman adjust to college life here at Slippery Rock,” Wilmes said. “Whoever gets the position will certainly be tasked with improving upon and expanding that program. We also hope to see our retention rates grow among transfer students and possibly see workshops developed for them in the future.”
The final on-campus interviews will be held on Monday of next week. A thorough review process will be conducted over the next few weeks before the committee comes to a final decision.
