When Rebecca Sanderson first read the job description for the associate vice president for student affairs (AVPSA) at Iowa State, she liked everything about it.

“I truly thought it had been written just for me … and that is a very rare thing,” Sanderson said.

Sanderson, candidate for the AVPSA, presented her hopes for the future of the Division of Student Affairs and its relationship with ISU students and faculty during an open forum Friday.

Sanderson told a group of 28 people she sees the Division of Student Affairs as a learning organization that creates, develops, learns and evolves from challenges. She outlined three major challenges that universities face.

Sanderson said technology was the first challenge. “Technology is here to stay … it is changing all of the time,” she said. “It is a challenge for us to stay current.”

The next challenge is keeping up with the needs of future students, she said.

“Students change all of the time. Their hopes, dreams and aspirations are like nothing we ever thought possible,” Sanderson said. “There are pieces that change, and it is important for us to stay current, but it is also important to look to the future and in trying to attract students here.”

Sanderson also touched on the third challenge — developing a community on campus. She said learning communities, the greek community and cultural centers are a start, but more needs to be done in supporting and developing campus communities.

Sanderson also touched on the importance of diversity in the Student Affairs office. She said she appreciated Iowa State’s acceptance of diversity by including sexual orientation in its Affirmative Action Statement and the personal partner benefits package the university offers.

Since 2002, Sanderson has been the director and assistant professor of Student Affairs Research and Evaluation at Oregon State University, according to the Division of Student Affairs Web site, www.iastate.edu/~saff.

“I have always felt that my job as an administrator is [to do] whatever I can do to make other peoples’ jobs easier,” Sanderson said.

Roger Balmer, business manager of the Thielen Student Health Center, said he was very impressed with Sanderson’s forum.

“I see [the AVPSA] as an important glue to hold the Division [of Student Affairs] together,” Balmer said.

Dean of Students Pete Englin is a member of the AVPSA search committee and attended Sanderson’s forum.

“We’re looking for a candidate that provides leadership within Student Affairs and partnership and collaboration across the entire institution,” Englin said. “I very much enjoyed the conversational style [of the forum], but it still spoke of her style, her approach and her work experience with real examples.”

Sharon George of Central Michigan University is also an AVPSA candidate and will be speaking in an open forum from 2:30 p.m.—4 p.m. on Wednesday in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union. Candidate Todd Holcomb, the current interim assistant vice president for student affairs at Miami University of Oxford, Ohio, will be speaking in an open forum from 2:30 p.m.—4 p.m. on Friday in the Gallery Room of the MU.

Kathy Jones, registrar and head of the search committee, said interested individuals can give their input on the candidates through candidate evaluation forms available on the Student Affairs Web site. These are due by Sept. 10 to the Student Affairs central office in 2350 Beardshear.

Thomas Hill, vice president for student affairs, will make the final decision on the candidate by late September.