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New administration changes shake up UT

Willie McKether

Jessica Harker, Editor-in-Chief

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Since her appointment as university president a little over a year ago, Sharon Gaber has made many changes within the administrative staff at the University of Toledo. Throughout her first year we have seen many different administrators come and go: both long-term employees as well as new hires.

“I joined the University of Toledo because I see what you see: a strong university with an incredible potential for greatness,” Gaber wrote in her welcome letter last year. “I am proud to be a part of this community and am grateful for the warm welcome I have received.”

Helping her throughout this first year to accomplish these goals was Matt Schroeder, who was hired immediately as Gaber’s chief of staff when she became president. Schroeder worked previously as the chief operating officer for the University of Toledo Foundation.

Other administrators who were hired when Gaber first began include Sam McCrimmon. He was the first ‘vice president for advancement’ — a new position created by combining the divisions of External Affairs and Institutional Advancement, which would form the Division of Advancement. Also hired by Gaber for her new administration was William Messer, the vice president of research, and James Mager, the interim vice president of enrollment management.

However, all three of these newly appointed administrators are already gone from these positions just as the new fall semester begins.

Gaber announced on August 11 through a letter to the campus community that McCrimmion would no longer serve as the VP.

Messer will also not be serving in his VP position during the fall, but will be returning to the faculty in pharmacology and medicinal and biological chemistry according to Cunningham.

Mager will also be leaving his position, though it was not left vacant for very long. According to UT News, Mager’s interim contract expired on May 13. After his departure, UT hired Stephanie Sanders as the interim vice president of enrollment management. The UT News article said Sanders was hired for two years after a failed search by the university for someone to be permanently hired for the position.

“While the search identified some strong candidates, we weren’t able to bring it to conclusion,” Gaber said in the article. “Stephanie will help us to continue to build the foundation of strong recruitment and retention efforts at The University of Toledo. We will then be positioned to have a strong national search.”

However there will be another vacant spot at UT in the beginning of the school year. The position of VP of marketing and communication, previously held by Jonathan Strunk, will be left open after Strunk resigned from the University on July 14, though according to UT spokesperson Meghan Cunningham he will continue to work remotely for the university until March 31.

UT lost a few key administrators this past year, but gained several as well. Willie McKether came on board as the new vice president of diversity.

Previously, McKether worked as the special assistant to the president for diversity before he was given the more permanent vice president role. He has worked with Gaber throughout the 2015-16 school year to reach out to the community — both on and off campus — to create a diversity plan catered to their needs. The new plan was published at the end of the 2015 spring semester and will be officially enacted at the start of the fall semester.

Around the same time, Andrew Hsu was brought to UT to serve as the provost. He was appointed after a nationwide search that resulted in three finalists.

“What needs to be changed will have to be a collective decision with input from the students, from faculty and staff — from the current leadership at the university,” Hsu said in a previous interview.

Overall, the University of Toledo has seen a variety of changes throughout the first year of Gaber’s presidency. With the new school year starting off with huge changes as well, her next year is sure to be full of surprises.

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Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919.
New administration changes shake up UT