The University expects to announce a new leader for the Center for Alcohol and other Drug Education by the end of this month, an administrator said Tuesday.
The leader of CADE is responsible for directing the office’s programming, which includes overseeing the BeWiser substance awareness campaign and event registration for student organizations.
The position of associate director has attracted about 20 applicants so far, three of whom seriously interested Associate Dean of Students Tara Pereira, she said.
Pereira declined to give specific information about the candidates because the position is still open, but said the University is looking for a candidate with collegiate drug and alcohol prevention experience.
Beyond that “very specific skill set,” Pereira said the University hopes to hire a candidate with a background in violence and stalking education.
There were 10 sexual offenses and 14 incidents of harassment on campus last year, according to crime log statistics.
Violence, especially sexual violence, is often associated with alcohol and drug consumption, she said, and noted that addressing violent behavior on campus will become a larger part of CADE’s mission after a new head is appointed.
“This year will be spent thinking through CADE like last year was spent thinking through SJS,” she said.
Student Judicial Services dissolved and reformed as the offices of Civility and Community Standards and Student Rights and Responsibilities early this semester as part of a sweeping department overhaul.
CADE, otherwise largely unaffected by the sweeping changes, no longer directs the University’s alcohol amnesty program – a move Pereira previously said would allow the office to focus solely on education and prevention.
Katie Bean, who had served as assistant director and acting head of CADE since the original director left in 2008, departed in this fall for a similar position at St. Joseph’s University.
The University is focused on hiring a new leader soon, Pereira said, as October is a key month for alcohol education. National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week and Halloween fall in October, one of the substance education office’s busiest times, Pereira said.
After a round of phone interviews, the most promising contenders will give a presentation to students and staff.
Pereira – who oversees the substance abuse office in addition to the judicial branches – is spending more time in CADE’s Thurston headquarters to compensate for its absent executive.
“There needs to be another person there, and that person is me,” she said. “I have been a lot more hands-on with CADE.”
