The associate directors of Event Services will have more on their plates for the next two weeks while Ohio University officials finalize the search for a new executive director.
Sujit Chemburkar, executive director of Baker University Center and Event Services, will leave OU Friday to become the director of the Marshall Student Center at the University of South Florida.
Chemburkar’s earned $81,405 at OU, and he will make $90,000 at USF.
Chemburkar said he had a positive experience at OU.
“I am going to miss the people and the students here and the wonderful relationships I have been able to develop with them,” he said.
To replace Chemburkar, Student Affairs is interviewing four different finalists who will visit campus during the next two weeks, Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said.
OU decided to not use a search firm to seek applicants and spent very little money — less than $500 — on the search process, Vice President for Student Affairs Kent Smith said.
“We’re looking for someone who has experience in both student unions and university centers,” Smith said. “If they’ve managed multiple facilities, that’s a plus.”
The first finalist, Scott Tierno, is director of student life and the student center at Southern New Hampshire University. He arrived on campus Thursday and will continue his interview Friday, Lombardi said.
Other finalists include Eve Esch, director of Ohio Union Events at Ohio State University; Gregory Wilkins, associate director of student activities and the student union at Minnesota State University at Mankato; and Paul Reynolds, associate director of the student center and auditorium at Illinois State University.
“Once you make an offer… it could be weeks, it could be months once you get a selected candidate, just depending on their personal circumstances,” Lombardi said.
OU will not appoint an interim executive director of Event Services during the search for Chemburkar's replacement. Instead, the two associate directors, Dustin Kilgour and Jeremy Schaffer, will take on additional responsibilities until the appointment of a new executive director, Lombardi said.
Kilgour is the interim associate director of operations, and Schaffer is the associate director of technical production.
“When (Kilgour and Schaffer) need that executive director kind of leadership, they’ll come to me,” Lombardi said. “They will just keep doing what they’re doing. It doesn’t really change anything for them because they already run most of their stuff day-to-day anyway.”
bv111010@ohiou.edu
