In the coming months, Bellevue College’s human resources department plans to hire a new vice president of human resources and dean of student services. To date, very little information can be said about the process and candidates as a whole. Human resources interviewed the first applicant out of a total of six for vice president of human resources on Thursday, Oct. 10.
For the vice president of human resources, there are many responsibilities. The VP would be part of the president and college’s executive team, so whoever is offered the job will be a top contributor to BC policy information, planning strategies, and the budget of BC. The VP is also responsible for the overall development and routing of human resources projects, strategies and employment.
According to Maria Woods, part of BC’s human resources, the vice president directs four professional staff who are responsible for HR functions including: recruitment and employment, compensation and benefits administration, contract and labor relations, employee relations, training and employee development and affirmative action/equal employment opportunity. They are assisted in these responsibilities by three paraprofessional/technical staff and office support staff.
The dean of student services will be responsible for essentially providing general leadership and supervision for services and programs in Student Services. In addition to this, the dean of student services helps with advising and entry services, TRiO, high school programs/CEO and counseling services.
The hiring process for the vice president of human resources is extensive. First off, the job itself is announced. Human resources then receives applications and reviews them. Those who meet the minimum requirements of the job are released to a search committee who screens the applicants. The individuals who meet the criteria after the screening are moved towards BC President Dr. David Rule for review. After this, the president of human resources picks the final candidate after which they are offered the job.
Leslie Mayo, ASG vice president of finance and communication, was on the hiring committee for the hiring of the vice president of human resources. For Mayo, it’s important for students to care about who is getting hired in the future to fill these positions.
“This affects students. These are going to be the people who are making decisions for them in the near future,” said Mayo.
“It was a great experience to be a part of the hiring committee. I think I did a good job of being the voice of the students and putting myself into different positions of different students during the process,” said Mayo.
Andrea Torres, ASG vice president of student affairs and pluralism, is also on the hiring committee.
“It was my first committee as an ASG representative so I didn’t know what to expect. At first it was intimidating being the only student in the room but the rest of the members always made me feel welcomed and my voice was always heard,” she said.
With only the first of the six interviews completed, there will be several updates in the near future.
In a mass email from Rule, he confirmed that in November, the final applicants will return to campus for a visit. At that time, campus-wide meetings, open to all students will be scheduled as an opportunity for each candidate to interact “with a broader representation of the community college,” Rule said in his email.