Mount
Reorganizes Office of Student Development
With the advent of
students returning, Mount St. Mary’s
College recently reorganized the office of
student development. Under the
reorganization, the Division of Student
Development now encompasses the office of
campus life, wellness center, department
of public safety and intercultural
development. Six positions have been
recreated to meet the changing needs and
demands of the Mount’s students.
The former
functions of the office of student
development were changed creating the
office of campus life. Michael Zoll, dean
of student development, explained this
restructuring began two-years ago at the
request of Mount St. Mary’s Board
Trustees and President George R. Houston
to "place professional staff
in-residence." Zoll added, "Two
years ago, we hired four administrators
who lived in the residence halls and had
direct oversight for their residential
areas. We also shifted more human and
financial resources to student activities
in order to create more social options on
weekend evenings and created a new student
position (community assistant) to provide
greater student input into campus programs
and activities."
Among the new
appointments are Jason I. Lambert,
director of campus life; Stephanie M.
Adams, assistant director of campus life
(residence education); John Standard,
assistant director of campus life
(residence education); Jaclyn L. Bellotti,
assistant director of campus life (student
involvement); Christopher Conzen,
assistant director of campus life (student
involvement); and Melinda Moz, assistant
director of wellness (alcohol and other
drug prevention and education).
As director of
campus life, Lambert’s main
responsibility will be to "provide
visionary leadership for residence
education and student involvement."
The office of campus life has been
assigned the leadership of both residence
education (administration of the residence
halls, supervision of student staff,
student conduct adjudication) and student
involvement (student activities,
orientation, leadership, advising student
government and class officers, clubs and
organizations) under Lambert.
Lambert received a
B.A. in economics from Southeastern
Louisiana University in 1992 and a M.Ed.
in counseling and personnel services,
college student personnel emphasis, from
the University of Southern Mississippi in
1994. From 1995-96, he served as
fraternity advisor for Louisiana State
University. In August of 1996, Lambert
moved to the University of Evansville
(Indiana) to become coordinator of Greek
life and an area coordinator, managing
student residential life. In 1998, he was
appointed assistant dean of students at
Evansville and in 2000 he accepted an
additional post as director of residence
life.
As assistant
directors of campus life (residence
education), Adams and Standard will be
responsible for residence education, which
primarily involves training, supervising,
and evaluating the student residence life
staff. They will also oversee daily
operations in a residential area, home to
over 500 students. Adams and Standard will
also be responsible for conflict
resolution and crisis management as well
as the adjudication of student
disciplinary hearings.
Adams comes to the
Mount from Western Illinois University
where she served as assistant complex
director for Higgins Hall, a residence
hall with nearly 900 students, while
completing her requirements for an M.S. in
college student personnel. She also holds
a B.S. in education from Central Missouri
State University. At Central Missouri
State she was assistant residence hall
director, a conference staff assistant,
and a community staff advisor.
Standard recently
left his position in the office of
residence life at the University of
Evansville, Indiana to join the Mount
campus life staff. In this capacity he
oversaw the day-to-day operation of a
residence hall housing 275 students, as
well as supervising nine staff members and
serving as the chief judicial officer for
that particular hall. Standard hold s a
B.S. in global business from University of
Evansville.
As assistant
directors of campus life (student
involvement), Bellotti and Conzen have
many responsibilities, centered around the
formation of student involvement programs
and the overseeing of the new McGowan
Student Center, slated for a fall 2002
completion date. They will also be
responsible for the selection, training
and supervision of twelve community
program assistants as well as twenty-five
student orientation leaders. Belloti and
Conzen will also be in charge of planning
two Mount traditions: Commencement Week
and Family Weekend.
Bellotti also
holds an M.S. in college student personnel
from Western Illinois University, as well
as a B.A. in communication from The State
University of New York at Geneseo. She has
served a variety of campus leadership
positions including graduate assistant in
the office of student activities at
Western Illinois, interim hall director at
the University of Colorado’s main campus
at Boulder, Graduate assistant for college
student personnel recruiting, resident
director/advisor of Alpha Sigma Alpha
sorority, and advisor in the department of
athletic advising all at Western Illinois.
Conzen holds an
M.Ed. in college student personnel from
the University of Maryland and a B.A. in
social work from the Catholic University
of America in Washington, D.C. While at
Maryland, he was a graduate advisor for
student entertainment events and a house
director for Beta Theta Pi fraternity. At
CUA, Conzen served as North Campus
President of the Residence Hall
Association and as a resident assistant,
and was a member of the RA Selection
Committee.
Moz, the new
assistant director of wellness, will be
primarily in charge of alcohol and drug
prevention and education. Although this
position is not newly funded, it has been
moved in the team model. Zoll stated,
"It is a big step forward for the
Mount to have a dedicated coordinator in
this area. Melinda will be aligned with
the Wellness Center’s effort to educate
through prevention, and will work closely
with others at the college who have a
vested interest in reducing substance
use."
Moz received a
B.A. in human services from Northeastern
University in Boston in 1998 and an M.A.
from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in
1995. She has a wide background of
experience including North quad director
in the residence life office at Brandeis
University in Waltham, Mass., residence
life coordinator and community service
coordinator at Cedar Crest College in
Allentown, Pa., and graduate assistant in
the student affairs office at the
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
(Pa.).
Zoll is excited
about seeing the reorganization come to
fruition. "This is a highly skilled
and energetic team. They bring terrific
experiences from the institutions they
have been affiliated with. They have been
working very hard to launch all of the
programs and activities for which we are
responsible. Working with our students
leaders, they want to make some changes to
systems and procedures that will serve to
improve campus life."
Mount St.
Mary’s, founded in 1808, is the oldest
independent Catholic college, and
second-oldest seminary in the United
States.
For information,
please contact the Mount’s office of
communications at 301-447-5366.