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The Etownian
www.etownian.com
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Vol. 115. Issue 11
College announces, welcomes fifteenth president to campus by Elizabeth Gipe Assistant News Editor
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lizabethtown College named Cecilia M. McCormick, J.D. its next president Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. This announcement arrived after a long search process that occurred once Etown’s current president, Dr. Carl Strikwerda, announced his retirement Feb. 12, 2018. The announcement was made in an email sent out to the college community by Board of Trustees Chair Robert Dolan. In the email, Dolan praised McCormick for her background and leadership qualities. “President-elect McCormick’s dynamic background, combined with her academia expertise, will help to advance the College’s strategic plan, initiatives and on-going projects to enhance the experience of our students,” Dolan said in the email. He further went on to say that the Board of Trustees unanimously ratified the presidential search committee’s recommendation of McCormick as the College’s next president. McCormick was selected from a nationwide search that lasted 10 months. The first step of the process was to find a search firm that could help Etown find its next president. Witt/Keiffer was selected as the search firm for Etown to partner with, and together they created a leadership profile and position statement before they started to receive applicants. Over 100 applications were submitted, and the presidential search committee looked through every single one before narrowing down its search to a series of semi-finalists. After interviewing those semi-finalists, the presidential search committee narrowed its pool again to a few finalists who were put through various interviews and activities to gauge their leadership capabilities. The interview process amongst the final candidates involved students, which, as junior Student Senate president Holly Francescone said, is not something seen at other institutions and was recommended by the Board of Trustees. The interview process involved five students,
Photo courtesy of Elizabethtown College
Cecilia M. McCormick, J.D. was named Elizabethtown College's 15th president in an email sent out to the College community Friday, Jan. 11, effective July 1, 2019.
including Francescone, having lunch with the candidates and telling the Board the strengths and weaknesses they saw in the candidates. McCormick reflected on the interview process with the students when she visited campus Wednesday, Jan. 16. “What students have to say matters to me,” McCormick said. She went on to say how thrilled she was that students were involved in the search process. “That was very important to me, and they asked great questions.”
McCormick’s visit to campus allowed her to meet students and faculty who were not involved with the search process and to get to know more about the community. Students who met McCormick spoke about her commitment and passion for the student body. “Just based on the impression that I had on how she interacted with all the students there that first day, she seemed very charismatic and very open to one-on-one student interaction,” junior Alexis Trionfo said after meeting with the president-elect.
“I think she’s very personable,” Francescone said. “I think that she has a really strong heart for students ... She talked about her previous experience, even though she’s in an administrative role, of just diving right into student activities. I think that’s a really positive first impression.” “I want to make sure that we give [the students] opportunities,” McCormick said. She also spoke about how she can get Etown students involved using methods she has used in the past, such as student focus groups, luncheons, forums and other informal collaborative techniques. “I think that gives [the students] leadership opportunities, but in addition, it also adds to, I think, the nature of our culture here on the campus,” she said. In addition to working with students, McCormick also shared how she hopes to work with faculty and the community to grow the institution. “The first conversation I want to have is ‘what is the value of an Elizabethtown education?’ and that would be to both the faculty and to the students," McCormick said. "I want to hear both of your perspectives, and I want to hear other stakeholder perspectives: alumni, employers, everybody. We've got to have everybody at that table to really get that understanding.” Associate professor of English and chair of the English and communications departments Dr. Matt Skillen served on the presidential search committee on behalf of the faculty. “I hope that President McCormick really communicates a clear vision for the College and begins to mobilize not just members of the faculty, but members of the entire College community to work more purposefully towards that vision," Skillen said. "I think that was overwhelmingly the thing that the faculty was looking for in the next president, and I think we found someone who could do that.” In terms of the future, the community shared SEE PRESIDENT PAGE 2
College welcomes, introduces Residential renewal to bring new director of Bowers Center apartment housing options to Etown by Stephanie Miller Copy Chief
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Photo courtesy of Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College announced Whitney Jones as the new Director of the Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-being in an email sent out to the College community Monday, Dec. 10.
by Victoria Edwards Staff Writer
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hitney Jones became the Director of Elizabethtown College’s Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-being Monday, Jan. 7. Jones grew up in Emporium, Pennsylvania, a rural town popular among fishermen and hunters. Its nickname is “the land of endless mountains.”
As a child, Jones enjoyed attending Pittsburgh Pirates’ baseball games. She later played softball, and baseball remains her favorite sport. Jones received her bachelor’s degree in sports administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a school not unlike Etown. She decided to continue her education and pursued SEE DIRECTOR PAGE 3
s part of a recently announced residential renewal plan, the Vera Hackman Apartments will be renovated and new apartment buildings will be constructed at Elizabethtown College over the next few years. The final building will not open until 2022, but students are feeling the effects this year as the housing selection process changes in preparation for the construction. Vice President for Student Life Dr. Celestino Limas met with each class Monday, Jan. 14 and Tuesday, Jan. 15, describing the changes and explaining how each class will be affected. “We know the College needs [this change] and we really hope you’ll all appreciate it,” he said in a FaceTime interview. A renovation of Hackman was already planned for the summer of 2019, but this announcement comes after Residence Life and Facilities Management identified the worst 150 rooms on campus in terms of number and severity of work orders. About a third of those 150 rooms were in Hackman. One of the two Hackman buildings will be closed for renovation at a time. This cuts the number of students who can live in the apartments for the 2019-2020 year in half. According to Limas, this was the best plan for the College despite being “sticky and not perfect.” “We’ve invested in the school academically for a while, but now there’s a drop-off between the quality of academics and residence hall quality,” Limas said. “That’s not acceptable.” Both juniors and seniors will have rooms allotted for them in Hackman. Seniors who choose not to live in Hackman will be able to live in premium doubles at a reduced price. Additionally, 37 additional seniors will be allowed to move offcampus for the 2019-2020 year without paying an
additional fee. Current senior Amanda Hafler was surprised by what she saw as a push to move off-campus. “When we first came to Etown, we were told most people live on campus,” she said. “I know that’s true, but it surprised me because we seem to have the on-campus facilities we need during the changes.” The second major change is the planned construction of new housing near the corner of College Avenue and Mount Joy Street and in the field across from Ober Residence Hall. Sunday, Jan. 27, students received a survey asking them for input on all of the planned housing projects. The first apartment building will be located on the patch of grass in the Schlosser loop along College Avenue. Construction will begin in December 2019 and the building will open in August 2020. Royer Residence Hall will be demolished in May 2020 to make way for the next apartment building. Next, Schlosser Residence Hall will be demolished and replaced. If all goes according to plan, the fourth and final apartment building will be ready in August 2022. “I think the main challenge is going to be staying on track with all the construction,” firstyear Christian Schaaf said. Still, Schaaf, who lives in Schlosser, said he sees how the changes can benefit the students and the College in the next few years. In the meantime, the adjusted housing selection process has begun, with rising juniors and seniors officially ranking their preferred options on JayWeb. Students will be assigned to options based on preference and lottery number. The students assigned to Hackman will only be able to choose their roommates from among the other students assigned there. For everyone else, residence hall selection will take place at the end of February. “It’s a lot of information at once, but I could tell there was a lot of thought put into it,” Schaaf said SEE HOUSING PAGE 2