In a week, the job Vernon Wall, current assistant dean of students and 6-year faculty member, holds will no longer exist.

As part of a reorganization, Wall’s position is being dissolved, school officials said. The duties of his office are expected to be combined with those of the associate director of the Memorial Union, an office left vacant after the retirement of Roger Ferris in February.

Dean of Students Pete Englin said the dissolution of Wall’s job had nothing to do with his May 8 arrest for drunken driving, and discussions about the change had been taking place months beforehand. Wall had been pulled over by Ames police and failed a field sobriety test.

Wall’s last day will be August 6.

“It’s sort of a mixed bag,” Wall said of his feelings about leaving the college. “On one hand, I’m excited about the possibility of finishing up my doctorate studies. I haven’t had the opportunity to do that because the position is very time-consuming. On the other hand, though, I think I’ll miss the students, and the fact that I’ve met some outstanding students that I won’t have contact with.”

In the end, Wall said he has no qualms about the dissolution of his job.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Wall said. “And I’m ready to move on.”

Wall said he’d been advised of the impending reorganization almost a year and a half ago and met with Pete Englin and Todd Holcomb, associate vice president for student affairs, in late spring to discuss the dissolution of the job. Wall himself had been of the opinion that student affairs should be incorporated into the Memorial Union.

“I think that when students walk into our offices in B6 [of the Memorial Union], they don’t know who reports to who,” Wall said. “I think our office should be as streamlined as possible.”

Richard Reynolds, director of the Memorial Union, said recent cross-campus budget cuts, as well as a movement to streamline the Student Affairs office, led to the decision to essentially move the office, in both presence and organization, from the Dean of Students Office to the Memorial Union.

Officials say the school will save approximately $56,000 a year due to the combination of the two positions.

The resulting office, which is yet to be titled, will have the responsibilities of both the associate director of the Memorial Union and the assistant dean of student affairs. The search committee to fill this position, headed by Leonard Perry, associate dean of students and director for minority student affairs, is expected to begin soon.

Wall plans to continue pursuing his doctorate in higher education studies at Iowa State.