Campus Auxiliary Services continues to search for a new executive director since former executive director, Mark Scott, left the college during the summer of 2018. The search has carried on since his departure.
According to an article published by The Lamron in February 2019, CAS was nearing the end of the process to hire a new executive director. Since, the past summer served as an opportunity for the search committee to reconvene, according to Enrico Johnson, CAS board president, chair of the search committee and Assistant Provost for Finance and Facilities.
“Our previous efforts did not work out, and in the middle of May, right after graduation, we put out another advertisement to attempt to fill the position,” Johnson said. “What we decided to do is a lot of work pertaining to the search this past summer. We did this so that once we reached this point at the semester’s beginning, we could be in a position to introduce these candidates to the campus community … so we have done a lot of leg work at this point.”
According to CAS, the Board of Directors consists of 14 chairs, and five of those are students. Together, the Board of Directors creates the annual meal budget, meal plan prices and policies, corporate mission, terms and conditions of employment and the development of long-range plans for operations and investments.
Johnson explained, “We have advertised for these candidates and have identified finalists and are at the point where we are bringing them to campus … there was a little time difference there between the time that we completed our work and now because we didn’t want just this committee to make a decision about the candidates.”
The CAS Executive Director position manages the college’s nine dining facilities, residence hall laundry services and the Big Tree Inn, among other responsibilities.
“The search is still open and conditioning,” Johnson said. “Still, I would describe that we have some viable candidates. We are just going to keep the search open because our goal is to get the best candidate possible to fill this position, in the most positive way we can.”
According to Johnson, the Executive Director position is chosen by the CAS Board of Directors instead of the college president since CAS is a privately-owned business.
Johnson explained, “I would say we are looking for someone who has strong leadership skills, a strong financial background and an understanding of the finances related to working for a nonprofit corporation. We are looking for somebody who, as far as values are concerned, has the values of the college … diversity, equity, inclusion.”
Johnson said CAS hopes to hire somebody who is creative in generating revenue, with new ideas to bring to the table that haven’t been discussed in the past.
“We are looking for a strategic visionary,” Rhonda Lander, director of human resources and co-executive director for CAS said. “[We want] somebody who has a strategic mindset and thinks outside of the box … a visionary to move us forward … a revenue generator, things like that.”
According to The Livingston County News, Scott filled the Executive Director position from 2007-2018. Under Scott, CAS renovated Red Jacket Dining Hall, began a partnership with Barnes and Noble bookstore and opened the convenience store Dash in the Saratoga Terrace, as well as other initiatives.
“I am looking for an executive director who is continuing the same work as the paramount we have been doing,” Adam Hansen, Student Association president and vice president of CAS board said. “I hope to see a student centered, student oriented executive director who is perceptive of student concerns and is willing to meet with those students … not as customers but rather people they want to see have the best experience possible on campus.”
According to an email sent from CAS to the campus community on Sept. 20, an open forum was held in the Union Hunt Room for students to meet and interact with final candidate Stephon Knox.
“I have been mentioning the open forms to the campus at Student Association meetings, so all of the club leaders are aware of them,” Hansen said. “Other student leaders have had opportunities to meet with the candidates directly in a small group setting where they can ask questions about policies related to allergens, options and meal plan pricing, among other things.”
Hansen said in his opinion, the students have had a very large input margin throughout the entire process.
“We are here for the students, we want to make every experience that students have the best that we can,” Lander said. “That input is essential to how we operate. All that CAS offers plays a role in how the student views Geneseo. Obviously, we want them to be happy and satisfied … and thus, they have a large input.”
Lander went on to say that CAS is looking to create a three to five-year strategic plan that will take a lot into consideration.
“The students that are coming in today are not the same as the students who came in five years ago,” Lander said. “We understand that the wants and needs of the student are constantly changing. As we have said, Red Jacket is now renovated. Mary Jemison needs an update or at least a refresh. Taking a look at all our locations, we want to accommodate the needs of the student.”