Dear Colleagues:
I write today to recapitulate the several administrative changes at the University that I first announced on last Friday’s bi-weekly open call, all designed to better position the University in advance of the launch of our strategic plan. To help optimize the senior administrative team, as well as to streamline operations, I am pleased to announce searches for the following four positions, all of which will serve as direct reports to me.
Athletics Director: Earlier this year, Marilyn McNeil, Vice President and Director of Athletics, announced her retirement from Monmouth after 28 years of dedicated service to the University. This week, I will commence a search for a new Athletics Director to succeed VP McNeil, effective July 1, 2021. This position will not serve in a Vice President role.
Executive Director of Campus Planning and Facilities Management: Earlier this year, Patricia Swannack, Vice President for Administrative Services, likewise announced her retirement from Monmouth after a loyal 45-year tenure at the University. Presently, VP Swannack oversees four discrete functional areas: Campus Planning, Construction, and Facilities Management; Compliance; Human Resources; and the Monmouth University Police Department (MUPD).
I have spent the last several weeks taking soundings from various constituencies across the University on the best ways to manage these administrative functions in VP Swannack’s absence, and have since determined that the best way forward is to redistribute three of these four functions among the senior leadership team. Effective July 1, 2021, both Compliance and Human Resources will report directly to Vice President and General Counsel, John Christopher. Please know that I will continue to work closely with our colleagues in these areas on any significant hiring, compensation, and policy decisions. Also effective July 1, 2021, MUPD will report directly to Vice President for Student Life and Leadership Engagement, Mary Anne Nagy. This move marks a return to an earlier reporting structure here at Monmouth, and underscores the importance of our student-focused community policing efforts on campus.
In order to carry out successfully the remaining critical functions of campus planning, construction, and facilities management, particularly as we prepare to implement an ambitious capital projects plan in connection with the strategic plan, I have decided to initiate a search for a new Executive Director of Campus Planning and Facilities Management.
By making these moves, I will collapse the Vice President-level position while ensuring satisfactory oversight of each of the primary functional areas for which VP Swannack is currently responsible.
Vice President for University Advancement: In consideration of other significant retirements within the Office of Career Services, I have decided to move Career Services to the Division of University Advancement in an effort to create more intentional and innovative synergies with our network of more than 55,000 alumni. This move will allow us to thoughtfully integrate career services with alumni relations and employer partnerships, all in a collective effort to help launch our students into the careers of their choice. We will build upon our good work in career development through academic partnerships, and we will look for new ways to collaborate both with the academic units and with other areas across the University. Because of the retirements imminent in Career Services, there is some urgency to make immediate progress in this integration with University Advancement. Accordingly, I have chosen to commence a search this week for the permanent Vice President for University Advancement, who will help to develop a cutting-edge career development model for our students, and at the same time create more meaningful engagement for our alumni and donors.
Chief of Staff: For the past six months, I have employed an Acting Chief of Staff – on a trial basis and on loan from the Division of University Advancement – to determine the efficacy of this position at Monmouth. As we near the end of this six-month appointment, I am pleased to report that this position has helped both to improve productivity in the Office of the President and to serve the University in an effective manner. I have decided to begin a search this week for the permanent Chief of Staff. Once complete, the Office of the President will have been appropriately reset in size and functionality, employing three instead of four people, since two others have accepted other employment opportunities at the University.
I am confident that this reorganization will help to streamline administrative decision-making, and I am pleased that this redistribution of administrative functions has allowed me to compress two Vice President-level positions, while saving University resources in the process. Searches for each of these positions will begin first as internal searches, open only to current Monmouth employees. This affords our loyal employees an opportunity to apply first for these senior-level positions, and continues the further streamlining of administrative functions during a very challenging budget year. If no acceptable candidates emerge during these internal searches, then we will expand the searches for these positions to an external audience. Please be on the lookout for an email from the Office of Human Resources with additional details on these positions and searches.
Thank you in advance for your support of theses senior-level changes. As always, if you have questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me directly.
Pat
Dr. Patrick F. Leahy
President