McKaig: Search for new Union Director set to begin mid-May

It’s been six months since the Indiana Memorial Union has had a director, but this summer that will change. \nDean of Students Dick McKaig said the search is still in its early stages, and although no concrete priority dates have been set, application screening will begin in mid-May. A job listing is posted on the IU human resources Web site. The search has also been opened nationally through Internet mailing lists and through contact with the Association of College Unions International.\nThe Web posting specifically asks for candidates to have a master’s degree, but prefers a doctorate. According to the application, candidates must have “extensive experience” or “ten years in a senior management position” at a university union. McKaig is looking for someone with a proven track-record, who has done a lot of work with students. Although prospective applicants must respect the traditions and history of the IMU, they don’t necessarily have to have ties to the University.\nMcKaig said at a school the size of IU, it’s important for the IMU director to have good administrative skills, but he would be disappointed if the applicant didn’t have considerable interaction with students.\nAfter the interviews are conducted in June, the top three candidates will visit the campus. The position should be filled by the time students return for the fall semester, McKaig said.\nThough the final decision is up to McKaig, a small search committee comprised of eight to nine students, faculty and administrators will have a hand in recommending candidates for consideration. Two or three students, most likely drawn from the Union Board, are expected to sit in on the committee, but no final decisions on the group composition have been made at this point. \nSalary won’t be discussed until the candidates in the pool are known, but McKaig doesn’t expect a dramatic increase in the director’s pay. \nThom Simmons, interim director of the IMU, said the next director should have a good understanding of the role the Union plays in supporting the student life program, as well as an astute business sense, and will need to balance those two \naspects. \n“Different times require different focuses,” Simmons said.\nSarah McDonough, president of the Union Board, said the most important thing she would look for in a candidate is someone who is student focused.\nMcDonough said she wants a director who respects the history and traditions of the IMU and someone who is forward-thinking and can move the Union into the future.\nFormer IMU Director Loren Rullman left last December to take a job as associate vice president of student affairs at the University of Michigan.