Candidates for Student Union director visit UNC

Chancellor-elect Carol Folt isn’t the only new leader UNC will welcome this semester.

Four finalists for director of the Student Union will be on campus at different points in the next few weeks, said Ray Angle, director of University Career Services and chairman of the search committee to fill the position.

Like Folt, the new director will begin work on July 1, said Bettina Shuford, associate vice chancellor for student affairs who put together the search committee.

Committee members began looking for a new director in February after previous director Don Luse retired in December.

The four finalists each have leadership experience in student unions at public universities across the country, with candidates from Ohio State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Texas at Austin and one internal candidate from UNC.

Angle said the committee picked from a pool of more than 60 applicants. The finalists will visit campus for two days to interview and participate in an open forum.

Scott Hudson, senior associate director of operations for the Union and interim co-director, is not a member of the search committee, but said he’ll want to ask the candidates questions when they’re here.

“There are values I hold dear, and I’ll ask those questions,” Hudson said.

Tony Patterson, the other interim co-director of the Union and the finalist from UNC, said the new director will have to address long-term decisions, including dealing with suggestions made while Luse was still director.

“Making those long-term decisions — to renovate or not to renovate again — are what we are looking forward to moving ahead, regardless of who the new director is,” Patterson said.

Tom Low, current Union president and a search committee member, said in an email that he wants the new director to have the energy to take on the challenges of the position.

“The learning curve for this position is very steep, and I personally want a candidate who can hit the ground running when they arrive,” Low said.

Carly Mathews, Union president-select who will start in May, said she hopes the new director will be adaptable.

“They’ll be working with new students every single year, whether it’s just the leadership or within the individual organizations,” she said.

Shuford said after the finalists visit, the committee will evaluate them, and she and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston Crisp will likely make the final decision by mid-May.

Angle said the committee followed the job description when looking for the new director.

“You try not to be too personal about it,” Angle said. “But we certainly want somebody who can lead us to the next level of having a great Union.

“We’re really happy with the four individuals that we’re bringing in, and we think the campus will be happy with them as well,” he said.

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