Facing crippling budget cuts, Iowa State has undertaken numerous measures to make the university more cost-efficient.

Among these measures is the impending consolidation of the positions of minority student affairs director and associate dean of students.

The minority student affairs director is responsible for “promoting the adjustment and graduation of minority students,” said former Minority Student Affairs Interim Director Joe Marion.

The associate dean of students “provides oversight and leadership for the various organizations,” in the Dean of Students Office, said Dean of Students Pete Englin.

Both officials agree that the two jobs can easily be combined into one.

“None of what we do here is done individually,” Englin said. “It’s a collaborative effort from a variety of people across campus that is needed to make this position successful.

“All duties of the associate dean position are being redistributed within the newly-established associate dean of students/minority student affairs director position, and that position will provide supervision previously provided by the dean,” Englin said.

“I’m looking forward to the new position,” said Marion, graduate student in educational leadership and policy studies. “I’m hoping with the combination that it will be a viable position, so we can offer more services to the students.”

Englin said that the associate dean oversaw several organizations that dealt with student services, and adding the Minority Student Affairs Office to those organizations will be beneficial to students.

“[When] you put all those people at the same table, the sharing of ideas creates a level of synergy and efficiency that you wouldn’t experience with stand-alone units,” he said.

Marion said the services provided by the Minority Student Affairs Office are well-needed.

Programs sponsored by the office include free tutoring, counseling, emergency loan money for educational expenses and the APEX summer program, which allows incoming minority students to “get a head start by taking some college classes in the summer before their freshmen year,” Marion said.

No salary for the new position has been given, as the salary will be determined by the individual’s qualifications and experience, Englin said. He did say that there would, nevertheless, be substantial monetary savings.

“The Dean’s Office has contributed $140,000 by the elimination of the positions of associate dean of students and the assistant director of recreation services,” Englin said.

More than 100 candidates have applied for the position, a fact attributed to the combination of offices.

“It will be a significant position – a more mainstream position,” Marion said. “The restructuring of the positions have made it a very attractive one.”

Englin agreed with Marion.

“[The office] offers a breadth of exciting and challenging experiences,” Englin said.

One of the candidates is Charles van Rossum, currently the assistant director in the minority assistance program at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Rossum, who was born in Indonesia and served several years in the United States Air Force before moving into a career in Student Affairs, participated in an open forum about the position Thursday.

Rossum said the most attractive feature of the post was that it brought staff together for the same goals and outcomes.

“It excites me that all the resources are right there under one roof,” he said.

“At his installation, President Geoffroy set a goal of a 70 percent graduation rate,” Englin said. “The combining of these services is designed to help all the student sub-populations reach that goal.”