According to Sara Jo Burks, the assistant director of housing, there will be no consolidation in resident assistant positions.
“We will be limited in the number of positions, but we will be hiring,” Burks said.
With the exception of 16 resident assistants from Alumni Hall, the office will hire the same number of staff in fall semester 2014 as they currently employ.
“There will be a shift in the hiring dynamics because we are losing 16 male RA positions and making the three female positions in Gardner Hall male,” Burks said.
The housing office will hire a total of 57 resident assistants next semester, including six for the Newman Center, which will have a separate hiring process due to the nature of the dorm, according to Burks.
Applications are available Feb. 24, and are due next Monday.
Burks said the housing office plans to hold the interview rounds on March 25, 26 and 27, depending on the number of applications.
According to Burks, the number of new applicants they are hiring has not been decided. The housing office will announce their selection of both new and returning residents on April 28 or shortly after.
The decision on returning resident assistants will be based on performance evaluations and the number of people who have indicated they will not continue with the job, Burks said.
“As of right now, we have 19 people informing us they will not return for RA positions,” Burks said. “But this is probably not the final number we end up hiring. The fact that current employees indicate they want to return doesn’t mean they will be hired.”
Burks said their resident assistant evaluation is a lengthy process. It is up to the area director to sit down with their staff members in one-on-one sections to decide who stays and who goes.
“You’d want the best [for RA positions],” Burks said. “If they are no longer effective or they are burnt out, it is the best for them, and for us, not to continue with the job. We are looking for leaders. We are looking for people that will carry forth the mission of Troy University and Troy University housing office.”
“The best way to be an effective RA is to be a leader that people enjoy following,” said Aaron Walker, a sophomore business marketing major from Birmingham. Walker has been a resident assistant for Alumni Hall for a year.
“Sixteen jobs will be lost. Fortunately, I had already planned to resign,” Walker said.
Aaron is moving into Farmhouse to “try to have a greater impact on the lives of my brothers.”
Hannah Stone, a junior graphic design major from Huntington, Md., has a more optimistic view on this semester hiring. She is applying to a resident assistant position for the first time.
“I really have my heart set on Paden House,” Stone said. “I have lived there this year. The personal environment and house-like feel fits me very well.
“The ultimate situation for me would be to live in the Paden House as the RA for my senior year.”
The resident assistant training takes place this summer.
Selected applicants will return on July 27, two weeks before housing is set to open, which is scheduled for Aug. 9.
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