Update on DSA Searches

Dear HMC Community,

I am writing with a brief update on two DSA searches in progress.

Associate Dean for Institutional Diversity: As of today, we have received over 60 applications and the search committee is busy reading files with an eye towards selecting three candidates for campus interviews in late October and November (schedules permitting). There will be several opportunities for campus constituents to interact with the candidates during their campus interviews. We remain on track to have a new Dean in place by January 1st.

Among other qualifications, the Committee identified the following criteria as important considerations in our review of candidates:

• Demonstrated independent judgement and initiative;
• Demonstrated ability to engage and lead students to advance diversity and inclusion;
• Demonstrated ability to engage and lead staff/faculty to advance diversity and inclusion;
• Demonstrated ability to establish priorities and focus on strategic initiatives built upon research and with attainable results; skill in problem solving, anticipating challenges and opportunities;
• Demonstrated ability to partner with senior campus leadership (e.g., president, trustees) to meet goals and address community needs;
• Demonstrated effectiveness to mentoring, coaching, and supervisory skills;
• Demonstrated ability to develop/sustain collaborative relationships with campus and community partners;
• Knowledge of best practices, recent innovations, and leading issues in diversity, inclusion, and equity

I want to thank the committee members: Angie Covarrubias Aguilar, Ronak Bhatia ’19, Rhonda Chiles, Nick Daily, Gabriela Gamiz, Leslie Hughes, Brandon Ice, Dagan Karp, Nancy Lape, Dana Nagengast, Zack Ritter, Maureen Ruiz-Sundstrom ’10, Lisa Sullivan, Elijah Whitsett ’19, and Talithia Williams for their time and effort in support of this campus leadership position.

MCAPS postdoc counselor: From mid-August through September MCAPS ran a search for a postdoctoral counselor who would do counseling hours on our campus while being supervised by an MCAPS licensed staff member. While HMC and MCAPS went into this new collaborative effort with good intentions, at the end of the process it became clear that we would not be able to work out a feasible arrangement, largely due to current MCAPS staffing levels and operating hours and certain requirements for postdoctoral training as required by the California Board of Psychology. In light of this news, last week the President’s Cabinet approved contracting with a local licensed therapist to provide on campus counseling. Dean Rae is in communication with local providers and based on preliminary conversations, we are expecting to have someone in place by early November. We seek a counselor who will continue with us throughout the school year and possibly into summer (funds permitting). While this delay is longer than we expected, we think it is important to find someone that works well for us, including their ability to hold evening and weekend hours to better accommodate Mudders.

I want to particularly thank Dean Rae, Dean Michelle, Theo Hansel ’19, Nisha Maheshwari ’19, and Fiona Vajk (MCAPS) for their continued time and effort in support of this counselor support position.

Best wishes,
Dean Jacobsen