Photo by Makenna Hall
By Makenna Hall, Managing Editor of Content
Susquehanna’s Office of Residence Life is looking to fill two positions after losing two staff members in the last academic year, though the future of the staffing structure remains unclear.
The office welcomed Jon Conlongue in November to the office as interim director of residence life, filling the role until May of 2021, while the university searches for a replacement for Colleen Bunn, who left the university in the fall.
According to Vice President for Student Life Susan Lantz, the department is hoping to have a decision about the organizational structure of residence life by this month so that they can begin the hiring process of a new director while students are still on campus. Lantz hopes that the new director would be able to begin this coming summer.
The discussion about restructuring residence life staff is a part of SU 2.0, the university’s newest initiative that aims to improve the student experience and enhance the employment opportunities of faculty and staff, according to Susquehanna’s webpage on the topic.
Associate Director of Residence Life Natalie Sowers explained how in the last six years the office has seen three different staffing structures, that have ranged from having two associate directors, a director and assistant director to a director and associate director, with varying numbers of area coordinators and administrative assistants in all structures.
“I think there may be more iterations if you look back 10+ years as well, stability has been quite the elusive endeavor for this office over time, we are hopeful that some of that may simmer down as the 2.0 agenda advances,” Sowers said.
Conlogue is using his 40 years of residence life experience to help Susquehanna think about what the residential program should look like in the future.
“The Susquehanna 2.0 initiative is looking at these big picture issues for the entire institution, and it’s up to us to think about how the residence life program fits into that changing landscape,” Conlogue said, “I have made, and will continue to make, recommendations that I think are helpful in creating the kind of residence hall program that the students and the University will need moving forward.”
Conlogue is hoping by the time he leaves in May that the staff understands the importance of their roles on campus when it comes to student and campus success. “I also hope that…they feel good about the work that they have done and will continue to do,” he said.
The office is also looking to replace an area coordinator after Danielle Cartwright left the office for a new opportunity over winter break, according to Sowers.
Lantz and Sowers stated that they are hoping to have the vacated position temporarily filled within the coming weeks.
As of now, the office is functioning with just one area coordinator, Jake Collette-Nippins, who joined the team in August of 2020.
“Any time that a member of such a small team leaves, everyone must pick up some new responsibilities and adapt. Thankfully, Danielle (our former area coordinator) did a great job in making sure that all her job responsibilities were in a good place where the three of us left were able to distribute her responsibilities and transition smoothly,” Collette-Nippins said.
As area coordinator, Collette-Nippins has numerous responsibilities, ranging from judging cases in the student conduct process to selecting and supervising senior community assistants (SCAs) and resident assistants (RAs).
Collette-Nippins has come to enjoy many aspects of his job in his short time at Susquehanna, one aspect being his scheduled meetings with SCAs and RAs. “I find it restorative and refreshing to be able to dedicate a couple hours every week to checking-in with students and seeing how they are doing,” he said.
Starting a new job during a pandemic has posed challenges for both Collette-Nippins and Conlogue, though.
Because a lot of the conversations that they have in the office is related to ensuring student safety throughout the pandemic, Collette-Nippins said that he tries to stay ahead of COVID-19 science and news to ensure that he has the most accurate information when making decisions.
“Examples [of conversations we have] are how can we make sure that students are returning to campus safely, how do we turn our RA Selection process virtual, how do we make sure that our student staff and residents feel safe in the residence halls during a pandemic – all while doing our best to provide any sense of “normalcy” possible,” Collette-Nippins said.
Conlogue faces an additional challenge in filling a temporary position due to the circumstances of the pandemic.
“Being in an interim position requires anyone to get up to speed as quickly as possible with respect to what is needed and what is already present. [I]t is simply harder to get to know people when you can’t actually meet in person and when so many people, both students and employees, are working remotely,” Conlogue said.
Though each of the three staff members has their own set of responsibilities, Sowers noted that they have all come together as a team in light of understaffing to help each other complete office tasks.