Two administrative positions are being consolidated with the goal of saving money and providing more efficient service.

The new arrangement would save Iowa State about $65,000 per year by putting the Minority Student Affairs office under the Dean of Students umbrella.

Both the Minority Student Affairs director and the associate Dean of Student positions are vacant.

Searches currently under way for the positions have been canceled, said Thomas Hill, vice president for student affairs. A new search will be launched for the combined new position, which will be called the associate dean of students and director of Minority Student Affairs.

“We feel that this is a good opportunity to strengthen the services provided to students, and we feel we can do it in a more efficient and effective way,” Hill said.

Some may be concerned about MSA losing its status as an independent unit, Hill said, but he feels the resources of the Dean of Students office will help MSA increase minority retention and graduation rates.

“I fully anticipate it will improve,” he said.

The first step, Hill said, is to develop a new job description.

In addition to MSA, the Academic Success Center and Student Support Services will report to the position. Some of the duties formerly performed by the associate dean position will be redistributed around the Dean of Students office, said Pete Englin, dean of students.

“It spreads out some of the work that way,” he said.

A national search, costing about $3,000, will take place as soon as the job description is finalized, Hill said.

Although there may be some overlap in the old and new application pools, the new search will be entirely separate, Englin said.

“We won’t be cutting any corners,” he said. “We need to get the right person for the position.”

Rafael Rodriguez, former director of MSA, left the position in December 2000. The search, which received about 24 applicants, began in October and closed in December, Hill said. Teresa Branch, associate vice president for student affairs, served as interim director until December, when the position passed to Joe Marion, graduate student in educational leadership and policy studies.

He will fill the position until the new director is selected.

The associate dean of students position was formerly filled by Englin, who served as interim dean of students when former Dean of Students Kathleen MacKay left in 2000. He was named dean of students in October.

The application process for the associate dean position was to end in February.