Grace Montgomery

Contributing Writer

Darlene Piper, the administrative coordinator for Lowry Center and Student Activities, will be leaving her position and transitioning into a newly created job in the Office of the President. Piper will serve as the campus scheduler, where she will look at how to make using spaces for on campus events easier.

The change in the office of Lowry Center and Student Activities is one of many that have occurred in the past year. Starting this past summer, Craig Lutz, who served as the associate director for Student Activities and the director of Greek Life, as well as  Melissa Garcia de la Noceada, who served as the program coordinator for Lowry Center and Student Activities, left the College for new positions. In her position as Program Coordinator, Garcia de la Noceada served as the supervisor for the staff at the Underground (UG), an advisor for Common Grounds and the POT and the developer of programming for Woo After Dark. As a result of these two staffing changes, Julia Zimmer, director for Lowry Center and Student Activities, has had to take on additional roles.

Scott Brown, dean of students, remarked that although there have been personal and professional opportunities that have led to staffing changes, there are currently new developments in the office of Lowry Center and Student Activities that are set to better serve the students at The College of Wooster.

“Under the leadership of Julia Zimmer, we will welcome two new members [the week of January 20]: a new program coordinator and a temporary assistant director for student programming,” said Brown.

Zimmer noted that both positions began on Tuesday, Jan. 22. 

“The program coordinator will be serving as the advisor for Wooster Activities Crew (WAC) as well as working on several other things within the office to support programming and student leaders,” said Zimmer.

Upon filling the position of Program Coordinator, there is hope that the UG will open this semester.

“The goal is mid-February for it to open once we get the place restocked, programs planned and additional staff hired and trained. We are hiring student workers in addition to those we had prior to the closing,” Zimmer said.

As for the position of director of Greek Life, the job will likely be filled this semester.

“In student affairs, particularly with positions requiring more experience and education, the prime ‘hiring’ season is now, and we want to make sure we have the very best candidates coming for this important role,” Brown noted.

The goal for filling positions in the office of Lowry Center and Student Activities is to enrich the student life at the College, according to Brown.

“The student experience is very important, and we think much about how to best engage and involve our students most broadly and deeply. In fact, that is one of the key strategic planning groups that is working as we speak,” Brown said.

The Strategic Planning Group (SPG) is a group that looks to see how “students, staff, faculty, alumni, and the board of trustees can best meet Wooster’s mission for the decades to come,” according to an email on Jan. 16 from President Sarah Bolton.

While there are new hires coming into the Office of Lowry Center and Student Activities that are set to develop and improve the Wooster student experience, students have the opportunity to use their voices to inform what happens with student life on campus by getting involved with the Strategic Planning Group. A meeting  took place on Thursday, Jan. 24 from 4:15 to 6 p.m. in the Wilson Governance Room in the Scot Center.