THE GUILFORDIAN
Greensboro, NC
Questions raised at forum
♦Administrators addressed student concerns over the restructuring process at the Open Forum last Tuesday
BY KIM O'CONNOR
Staff Writer
An open forum to learn
about and discuss the re
structuring of Guilford was
held on September 30 from
7:30-9:30 in the caf.
About 100 students,
faculty and administration
members were present, in
cluding Don McNemar, Art
Gillis and Kitty James as
speakers. The forum con
sisted of an informational
session followed by ques
tions.
The first speaker was
James, who is associate di
rector of admissions. She
stated that the purpose of
the forum was to "dispel ru
mors and inform students
about changes."
Directly following her was
chief financial officer Gillis, who
spoke about and presented a
handout of Guilford's budget, in
cluding the costs of the many
projects going on currently.
* President McNemar was the
last to speak, focusing on the rea
Search for security director continues
♦3 of the 5 possible new directors have visited campus for interviews and one should be chosen by fall break
BY JESSE LAPLANTE
Staff Writer
The search is on.
Since director of security
Ben Johnson left Guilford in
late July, the college has been
interviewing applicants to fill
the position.
Dean of Student Life Mona
Olds serves on the committee
in charge of the search. "All
things being equal with candi
dates, if one had teaching ex
perience and qualifications to
teach at Guilford, specifically
in JPS, we would be interested
in exploring that possibility,"
Olds said.
Olds explains that strong
teaching experience would
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Speakers at the forum said they wanted students to be involved in the restructuring process. 
sons he feels change is inevitable
at Guilford. He talked about pre
paring students to live and work
in the 21st century, and cited the
proposed changes as being a "real
opportunity for Guilford."
McNemar explained that the
way to be sure that Guilford is suc
cessful in the future is to make
help acclimate the new direc
tor into life at Guilford and
help the students see him or
her as more than just a figure
head.
It would be easier for the
students to relate to the new
director better if they were
able to know him or her in a
classroom setting as well.
The search committee
consists of Olds, Karen Behm,
Elgina Manuel, Robyn Parsons,
Barton Parks, and student rep
resentative Steve Karakasidis.
The committee has narrowed
the applicants from 3 5 total to
five strong possibilities. Three
of those five have come to
Guilford for extensive inter
views.
(riorcfs without actions are the assassins of idealism. —Herbert Hoover
Since 1914, but never quite like this
cost-containment its priority. He
wants Guilford to continue to be
affordable and to provide schol
arships.
"We want to reorganize the
administration to do everything
better with fewer people, rather
than more people, to move that
forward," McNemar said. Hence
Jim Gibbons, who has
served as interim director
since Johnson's unexpected
departure this summer, is
looking forward to meeting the
new director and hopes he will
be able to stay on the security
team as shift supervisor, which
was his position since Febru
ary 1997.
Speaking of his time as in
terim director, Gibbons said
he was grateful for all of the
student cooperation he re
ceived, claiming his job would
have been a lot harder with
out it.
When asked what advice
he would give to the incoming
director, Gibbons said, "Take
it slow. Get to know the ad
the proposed faculty cuts.
McNemar explained he
feels the changes need to hap
pen as soon as possible in or
der to assist current and pro
spective Guilford students in
future planning. He reas
sured concerned students
that the changes will not hap
pen all at once, but that there
will be a transition period of
a few years.
Before the questions be
gan, he also went through the
different task forces and their
heads, and explained that
their final reports are due in
December. In January the re
sults will be reported to the
Board of Trustees.
Afterwards, students ad
dressed a number of ques
tions to Gillis and McNemar
(see box page two).
The Forum adjourned
around 9:30 with a moment of si
lence.
Q&A from the Open
Forum on pg. 2 ,
ministration. Get to know stu
dents and student commit
tees."
Offering a student's per
spective on the search process,
sophomore Steve Karakasidis
said he was looking for some
one who will easily relate to
students.
Karakasidis also ex
pressed interest in finding an
applicant who could improve
relations with the GPI) and
take input from students and
administration.
The search committee
hopes to have a new director
selected by fall break so he or
she can greet students when
they return. Until then, the
search continues.
October 10, 1997