Women's Center should finally have a new director by July

The Carolina Women’s Center is in the midst of a search for its new director after suspending its previous search more than a year ago.

Charle LaMonica, the chairperson of the search committee, said the search was interrupted when the Board of Governors requested a review of many centers and institutes in the UNC system in 2014.

“There was a search last year. We brought four people to campus who were fine candidates,” LaMonica said. “Because of the review, we couldn’t make an offer. The search was suspended.”

Applications are being accepted until the search committee identifies the best candidate, LaMonica said.

“This position is looking for a seasoned leader who will take the great things happening and take it a step further,” she said.

The search committee plans to have three to four candidates visit campus by the end of this semester. The new director will be in place for the Fall 2016 semester.

“We hope to have the position filled by July 1,” LaMonica said.

Christi Hurt, the current director of the Women’s Center, was initially hired as the interim director in 2012. She said the responsibilities of the director vary.

“The director is responsible for broad oversight of the Center and addressing gender equity,” she said. “There is a lot of relationship building.”

Hurt said the Women’s Center is continuing to grow organically.

“It’s a small center for a university of this size,” she said. “It’s getting bigger.”

Some of the programs in the Women’s Center were started by students.

“We’re an incubator,” Hurt said. “You tell us what you’re interested in.”

Shelley Gist is a program coordinator for the Women’s Center. When she was a student, she started the Alternative Break Experience and interned at the Women’s Center.

When Gist was an intern, the Women’s Center was located in a house off Cameron Avenue. Now that it’s in the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, students have more access to it.

“Now we have students who stop in on their way to class,” she said. “I want that to continue.”

The new leader will develop the future of the Women’s Center as it figures out how it fits into the UNC community.

“The director is important for providing a strategic vision and developing a vision for growth,” she said. “They have a lot of different roles.”

LaMonica said a strong candidate will be able to communicate among all groups on campus, not just students.

“A person who leads well can collaborate across campus and work well with others,” she said. “A strong leader is visionary and can really see what is best with faculty, students, and staff, (and) have a variety of relationships with partners and constituents.”

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