Vice President of Student Affairs, Sara Axelson, is retiring this year meaning that new candidates are being voted upon for the job.
The finalists have already been decided and will be undergoing interviews and public presentations April 27 to the middle of May.
Axelson has been working at UW for 18 years, 12 of those as Vice President of Student Affairs.
“It’s so strange, I only have 16 days left,” said Axelson. “It’s a funny feeling, I must admit. I love what I do here at UW and it’s a transition that I knew at some point would come but it came sooner than I thought,”
Though she is sad to be leaving she is excited for UW’s future.
“I love the direction we’re going forward in in terms of position and I think it’s very intentional and it’s focused and I love that we have three candidates that we’ll be interviewing in the next two weeks!” Axelson said.
The three candidates are Sean Blackburn, UW’s current associate vice president of Student Affairs and Dean of Students; Tim Alvarez, vice president for student affairs at North Dakota State University; and Bill Schafer, recently the vice president for student life at West Virginia University.
“The new vice president is going to have plenty on their plate,” Axelson said.
The position will hold the opportunity for the new vice president to work on the building of new resident halls, reshaping relations with academic affairs, and growing student involvement.
As more things come to the attention of the vice president, other things such as admissions, financial aid, registrar, advising and career services, and student educational opportunities will all be transferred to the academic side of the administration.
“Going forward I think it’ll give the new vice president the opportunity to really focus in on these areas,” Axelson said.
Health and wellness, dean of students, university counseling center, campus recreation, student health service, resident life and dining services, the union, parent’s council, and ASUW will still be involved with Student Affairs.
Even with many of the big changes coming, the candidates are very eager to get involved.
“The future is here and change is coming. I want to be a part of making the student experience at UW one of the best in the nation,” Blackburn said.
He has been working at UW as the associate vice president of Student Affairs for three years and is eager to continue working at UW.
“I love UW and all the possibilities that are present here,” Blackburn said. “Laramie is my home and UW is where my heart is at,”
Blackburn’s interviews will run from May 1-2; Alvarez’s will happen April 27-28; and Schafer’s will go from May 4-5. The candidates’ public presentation times are yet to be announced.
As for Axelson, she has greatly enjoyed her time at UW and is ready to watch it progress under the new vice president.
“I love the mix of the recruiting and retention as well as all the work with the student affairs unit supporting student success and a sense of belonging and I can’t imagine a better job on the University campus than being the vice president of student affairs,” Axelson said.
