2nd dean candidate answers questions

Dean of students candidate Pete Goldsmith fielded questions Wednesday at the Wells-Metz Theatre, promoting greater communication as a path to a better university.

Goldsmith, the current vice president for enrollment management and student affairs at Kent State University and the second candidate to visit IU, started with an introduction and a recap of his history in higher education and his time as a student at IU.

“IU turned out to be a great experience,” Goldsmith said. “It challenged me to be more developed and more skilled.”

After his introduction, the audience of mainly faculty and staff spent almost an hour asking Goldsmith questions regarding student access to administrators, student advocacy and dealing with budget issues.

But one of the night’s most popular topics was Goldsmith’s plan to deal with alcohol on campus.

“I think anyone who works in student affairs more than a day and a half deals with alcohol,” Goldsmith said.

He also said the larger issues with alcohol are the vandalism and violence it contributes to, so confronting excess and helping students is key. Goldsmith said he supports the University’s current campus alcohol policies.

Another topic that raised a lot of questions was Goldsmith’s experience with greek systems. He said he has dealt with them through most of his career, and if he gets the position, he would like to have strong communication between the University and its chapters.

“We should have that talk about what it means to be a greek in the 21st century,” Goldsmith said.

Senior Cameron Pulaski attended Monday and Wednesday’s forums for the first two dean candidates. He said he was impressed with Goldsmith’s experience with greek life and thought Goldsmith had more knowledge about it than Frank Sanchez, the first candidate.

“Goldsmith has more experience dealing with greek organizations, and that’s a very prominent issue,” Pulaski said.

In addition to greek life, the discussion also touched upon IU’s tobacco ban, Goldsmith’s experience with campus disasters and increasing graduation rates. He said it is crucial for student affairs administrators to put their efforts into a freshman’s first taste of college life.

“The first six weeks are critical,” Goldsmith said. “Most students will decide if they are going to stay or leave in six weeks.”

Tara Slaughter, a graduate student, attended both forums and said Sanchez appeared to have more energy than Goldsmith. There might be more of a “generation gap” with Goldsmith, she said, adding that “Sanchez had more connection with students.”

Slaughter also said she has been going to the candidates’ open forums because of the importance of the dean of students and what he or she represents.

“The division of student affairs serves students on levels students don’t even realize,” Slaughter said. “There are services students don’t take advantage of until they need them.”