Volume CXXXIII, Number 19 March 29, 2002 f

Dean Mangawang to leave Bowdoin
ALISON L. McCONNELL
ORIENT STAFF

A nationwide search for a new assistant dean of student affairs is getting underway this week. According to Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster, it will be difficult to fill the shoes of Mya Mangawang, who will depart the College after four years in the position.

"She's done an awful lot in that time," he said. "She has tremendous judgment, and she's highly principled and committed to students….I really appreciate the way she challenges people to do their best. She has incredible drive....You bring that into an office, and it affects everybody."

Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Mya Mangawang will leave Bowdoin at the end of this year to pursue her doctorate in art history. (Bowdoin Orient)

The national search committee consists of students, faculty, staff, and Foster himself.

"We've posted the position in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Black Issues and Higher Education, a variety of local newspapers and publications, on the Bowdoin website, and so on," he said.

Associate Professor of Physics Steve Naculich, a former Judicial Board (J-Board) member and current chair of the Recording Committee, and Associate Professor of English Ann Kibbie, a House Advisor, are the committee's two faculty members.

One of the staff members is Director of Health Professions Advising Sue Livesay. The other staff member has yet to be confirmed.

Nick Hiebert and Ann Barmettler, both juniors, will serve as student representatives on the committee.

"They both have Res Life experience and are very involved on campus," Foster said.

The committee's first meeting was yesterday, and the development of search criteria was on the agenda for that gathering. A Master's degree is among the requirements, but Foster indicated that the committee would be looking for important non-academic characteristics as well.

"First, before we even get into the business of evaluating individual candidates, we want to think about what we're really looking for," he said. "We've heard from Mya and some of the J-Board members about what they think is necessary."

"I think that there needs to be an optimism for the role of education in students' lives," Mangawang said. "And a sense of idealism; a vision for a principled, better space here at Bowdoin-one that is more honest, civil, and based on respect."

"I think the one-on-one contact with students is what's most defining about the position," Foster said. "It's a demanding position."

Mangawang concurred. "I have spent most of my time advising, counseling, and generally supporting students through their times at Bowdoin," she said. "The most meaningful moments have been personal, reflective [ones] that I have been blessed to share with individual students."

Aside from her work with Bowdoin undergraduates in student affairs, Mangawang also served as Director of Fellowships and Scholarships.
"I have tried to provide some support for these students who opt to pursue opportunities in an accessible and helpful way," she said.

Additionally, she acted as the J-Board's advisor while at Bowdoin, and created some systems that hadn't previously been in place: annual reports, a letter articulating guidelines, and the like.

"My work with students on the J-Board has been a most rewarding endeavor," she said. "I have had the opportunity to watch these individuals grow through their years in a way that was wonderfully satisfying."

"The relationships she's formed with the various J-Boards over time have been really important, for both Mya and the students," Foster said.

Senior Tara Talbot, student chair of the J-Board, has known Mangawang over the course of her time at the College.

"Through her work with the J-Board, she has made significant changes that made Bowdoin a better place," Talbot said.

Foster pointed out Mangawang's success in organizing a lot of different responsibilities.

"When she first came here, she walked into a newly created position," he said. "Now, she's leaving behind a big job for the next person, but that person isn't walking in needing to recreate the wheel. The process and organization she's leaving behind is wonderful."

According to Foster, the office expects a good deal of interest.
"It's hard to know at this point, but we'll probably end up with around 100-150 candidates," he said. "We've already had about 20 responses.

"We'll take this big group and narrow it down to about 20, and then the committee will conduct phone interviews," Foster continued. "After that, we'll invite three or four people to campus for interviews with students, faculty, and staff-different constituencies on campus. They'll fill out evaluations, give their feedback, and we'll meet as a committee to make an offer."

The committee hopes to have Mangawang's successor appointed by the end of the academic year. "We want to wrap up by mid-May," Foster said. "It's an aggressive timetable, but we want to have the interviews take place while we're in session, so people can see what the campus is like."

Mangawang plans to pursue a Ph.D. in History of Art at Bryn Mawr College. While she indicated that she was excited about the prospects of continuing her education, she said that she thinks it likely that she'll return to a similar form of employment after receiving her doctorate.

"I have high hopes for the work done on these campuses," she said. "I hope that there will always be a place for me in higher education, in one form or another."