The hefty list of Ohio University’s administrative searches became a little shorter Tuesday when Student Affairs announced a new executive director of Residential Housing.
Student Affairs selected Peter Trentacoste, formerly the interim assistant vice president for Student Affairs at Northern Kentucky University, out of a pool of four finalists announced April 17.
Trentacoste will begin at OU on July 1, said Vice President for Student Affairs Kent Smith said in a statement.
“Pete has an extensive housing knowledge base, and we look forward to having him join our team,” Smith said.
Trentacoste will begin with an annual salary of $107,000, Smith said.
The search began after Christine Sheets, OU’s current executive director of Residential Housing, was promoted to assistant vice president for capital and facilities planning earlier this year.
Her salary of $108,896 will remain the same once she starts her new position.
Trentacoste has worked on six different campuses.
“I saw the posting first and after having conversations with members of the program and OU alumni who spoke so highly of (the program), I couldn’t help but apply,” Trentacoste said.
Due to his limited time on campus so far, he expects some discussion on many of the larger projects in Residential Housing, like the Housing Master Plan.
“I don’t anticipate running in with all the right ideas,” he said. “I want to look at the historical and current perspectives and learn about what needs to happen. I’ve only been on campus for three days.”
He predicts some challenges, but looks forward to his work in the position.
“Student housing gets me up in the morning,” he said.
Matt Farmer, president of the Residents’ Action Council and a sophomore studying political science, said he interviewed Trentacoste over the phone as a part of the process.
“He did a lot of research before coming here,” Farmer said. “He’s obviously very committed to building a relationship between students and Residential Housing.”
Trentacoste appeared to be very detail oriented in his approach, Farmer added.
The university paid search firm Spelman & Johnson $17,000 to assist in compiling a pool of candidates.
bv111010@ohiou.edu
