Item One on Tom McEvoy's to-do list for implementing
the new House System: “Build campus trust.”
“A lot of people have invested in this process,” said the new
dean of residential and campus life. “I've got to get students,
faculty and staff to trust me and buy into what Union is trying to build.”
McEvoy started that building process this week in a series
of meetings with members of the campus community. On
Monday, for example, he spent part of his first day on campus with
representatives from Admissions, Alumni Relations and
Communications.
“I have very positive feelings about this system,” said McEvoy.
“I wouldn't have taken the job if I didn't think there were
possibilities and opportunities.”
McEvoy joins Union after 13 years as director of housing
at Williams College, where he led the college's effort to revamp
the residential and student life programs. Prior to that he
was associate director of housing and residential life at Rensselaer.
So, he speaks from experience about what is required to
build Union's House System, adopted as part of the Plan for Union to
be implemented over the next four years: “Institutions change
slowly, and changing campus culture is painstaking work.”
One important step in changing the campus culture
is joining more closely the College's residence life and
student activities programs. “We've got to develop a corps of people
working toward the same end,” he said. “You need a carrot to
bring students to the house they are assigned to and we need to
have events and activities that will draw both students and faculty.
They need to know that the House System is a synergistic
opportunity.”
“I'm in a dreamlike role,” McEvoy said of the
challenges ahead. “The plan has been developed, now it's up to me
to implement it.”
“It's just a matter of asking, `Who are the people at Union
who can make this work?' My role is brokering, pulling all these
things together.”
“Failure is not an option,” he said. “The College has
invested two or three years in developing this program. It has to succeed.”