Budget Cutbacks Prompt CCAL Changes

Author: Tom Drescher

In light of the financial belt-tightening that Middlebury has been forced to undergo, the College has decided to discontinue the position of student center manager in the Center for Campus Activities and Leadership (CCAL).
Doug Adams, director of CCAL, explained the College's decision not to renew the position of student center manager, currently held by Joshua Dearborn, in an e-mail sent last week to all student organization leaders. Adams also outlined CCAL's plan to develop a new team of "student building managers" to assume Dearborn's current responsibilities.
Adams admits that the e-mail may have misled some people. The changes to CCAL office, said Adams, are "a result of a sequence of events rather than any single decision."
A recent graduate of Syracuse University with a political science degree, Dearborn is currently responsible for coordinating the facilities and technical needs of the McCullough Student Center, according to the CCAL Web site.
In addition, he maintains the darkroom, band room and portable technical equipment. Dearborn also assists in the planning of social and cultural events and advises clubs and student organizations.
"Earlier this year, Josh informed us of his intent to attend graduate school at Syracuse University this fall, to begin studying for his Masters Degree in Higher Education Administration," explained Adams. "We are very excited for Josh and completely support his desire to pursue advanced study in the field of Student Affairs."
Adams also mentioned that Dearborn's contract term was due to expire. This gave CCAL an opportunity to reevaluate its operations.
The College's budget crunch has contributed most recently to CCAL's decision not to renew the position currently held by Dearborn.
Without a student center manager for next fall, CCAL is working to develop a creative solution. "While we are still working on the details, the most likely plan will be to create a new student team of building managers to oversee the use of McCullough instead of professional College staff. Our mission remains to provide programs and services to support student leadership and student activities," explained Adams in the e-mail. "We will continue to do our best to excel at supporting student opportunity."
According to Adams, the new building managers will take over for Dearborn in September. "These building managers will provide general assistance and oversight for activities in the building during the evening and late-night hours. We are very excited about this new opportunity for student leadership and involvement," Adams added.
Adams is confident this change will ultimately help CCAL refine and improve its role in the College community. "CCAL is and will be the place for students to come for advising, program planning, financial/budget assistance, scheduling and assistance with leadership questions," asserted Adams.
"Our mission focuses on helping students and student leaders achieve their goals. We are confident that this reassessment will provide a system that will refine how we achieve our mission and have minimal impact on student organization programs."
Last week's e-mail also mentioned some changes to the current system of providing technical support in McCullough, but the details of the plan are not yet finalized.
College executives slashed millions from the school budget earlier this year. The CCAL position is the latest victim of campus wide scaling back measures adopted by the college administration.