KSC is facing a vacancy in the career services department after the former Assistant Director Kristin Brooks left the college to start a new job at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, serving as associate director for high-impact practices.
According to Career Advisor Bailey Saddlemire, students are not expected to notice significant changes while the college searches for a new assistant director, except for minor appointment scheduling delays. Saddlemire is currently filling in for many of Brooks’ former duties.
“I’m doing what I was already doing, meeting with students and doing presentations and events. Now, I’m also stepping in to help facilitate relationships with employers and community relations, which was previously more of the assistant director’s role,” said Saddlemire.
“I’ll be doing both sides of things in the meantime, while we look for a new assistant director, so our normal operations shouldn’t be impacted in a noticeable way,” added Saddlemire.
Saddlemire said scheduling appointments with her may take extra time, due to taking on more responsibilities.
Saddlemire explained waiting times for appointments within the office may take longer to schedule while the office grapples with its current staffing levels.
Executive Director of Student Academic Support Services Laura Mielke expressed hope that the assistant director position will be filled this spring semester.
“It’s hard to pinpoint an exact timeline since things are never definite, but we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to fill the position and have that additional resource in the office by the end of the spring semester,” said Mielke.
Mielke said Saddlemire is in a good position to fill in the vacancy while KSC looks for a new assistant director.
“Saddlemire has worked closely with Kristin Brooks, and we’re very thankful that she’s in this position to take on the extra roles. She’s closely connected and very able to pick up the pieces and continue with the work that had been planned for this spring,” said Mielke.
“We don’t anticipate a noticeable impact on the student experience, and we’re working hard to ensure that all of the services we provide Keene State students remain available and make this a seamless transition from that perspective,” added Mielke.
Director of Human Resources Karen Crawford said that hiring a new staff member is a multi-step process that can differ depending on the role.
“If it’s an old position, it will be approved for replacement if the college determines that replacing the role is better than reworking the position. If it’s a new position, a new requisition will be requested,” said Crawford.
“After the position is approved, the position will be posted,” added Crawford.
According to Crawford, vacant positions are not always guaranteed to be filled in the same form in which they were previously filled.
“When there is a vacancy, it isn’t assured that you’re going to hire the same thing,” said Crawford.
“It’s always a good opportunity to look at the position and decide if we want to hire someone to do the same thing, or if we want to change things up and rework how the vacancy will be filled,” said Crawford.
Ryan Pacheco can be contacted at
rpacheco@kscequinox.com
This article has since been updated to accurately reflect Bailey Saddlemire’s title, as well as note that the SASS office has never accepted same-day appointments. The Equinox apologizes for these errors.
