The department of Minority Student Affairs will hold off on its search for a new director until late fall or early spring, officials said.

Rafael Rodriguez resigned from his position as director of Minority Student Affairs June 6 after six years as an ISU employee. Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Teresa Branch currently is serving as interim director for the department.

“Rodriguez had decided to resign to spend some time this summer dealing with personal issues,” Branch said.

As interim director, Branch’s primary job is to oversee the Minority Student Affairs staff and special programs for minority students.

“I’m coordinating my efforts with minority liaison efforts in each college,” Branch said. “We serve the same population of students, so we meet monthly and talk about the efforts everyone is making, and we are all aware of what everyone else is doing.”

The Minority Student Affairs department offers support and mentoring services to minorities. The department organizes an annual banquet to recognize and honor minority students who achieve in academics, leadership and community service. The department also hosts ISCORE, the Iowa State University Conference on Race and Ethnicity.

Although Rodriguez left the department, his ideas and oversight still affect Minority Student Affairs, Branch said.

“There are times we talk about the efforts he was making,” she said. “He is referenced when we talk about the past and try to bridge those ideas to what we are doing now.”

Japannah Kellogg, liaison for the department, said Rodriguez helped improve race relations at Iowa State.

“Rodriguez had a pretty big role working with NCORE/ISCORE, which opened up dialogue for at least one day a year to talk about race and ethnicity,” Kellogg said.

Looking for a director to fill Rodriguez’s shoes could take two-and-a-half to three months.

Branch said the department plans to advertise the position for about a month, followed by an evaluation process of interested candidates. This includes telephone interviews, background checks and on-campus interviews. He said it will begin in late fall or early spring.

“This is the optimal time on the academic clock,” she said. “More people are ready to move in the spring, and we will get their attention this way.”

Although the plans are still sketchy concerning the search, Minority Student Affairs search personnel know what they want in a good director.

“We are looking for an excellent advocate for students of color and an effective leader,” Branch said.

An effective leader for the department is someone who wants to work with the entire university to help minority students feel at home and succeed, Kellogg said.

“A new director should bring in a little bit of wisdom and vision,” Kellogg said. “Someone who hits the ground . running with their goals could really benefit [Minority Student Affairs].”