After four years at the University, Dean of Students Penny Rue may be saying goodbye. Rue is on the short list of candidates for the vice chancellor of student affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she began her career 20 years ago as an area director for UNC's housing department.
Rue had previously been senior associate dean of students at Georgetown University, beginning in 1987.
From 1981 to 1987, she was a staff member at the University of Maryland while working on her doctorate in counseling and personnel services.
UNC's vice chancellor for student affairs search committee is expected to reach a decision on which candidate to recommend to administrators by the end of the week, committee chair Laurie Mesibov said.
The final decision will be made by UNC's chancellor and provost.
UNC officials began trying to fill the position last February, and received over 70 applications. The candidate pool currently stands at three, including Rue who, along with the other applicants, visited UNC's campus last week to attend a series of open forums of students and faculty members.
By all accounts, Rue was well-received during the visit, but said she is not eager to leave the University.
"I am very happy here," Rue said. "There's no motivation for me to leave Virginia -- there are very, very, very, few positions that I would consider leaving for and this happens to be one of them."
The decision to apply was motivated by professional ambition, Rue said.
"It's essentially leading the division of student affairs, which has been a kind of long term goal of mine," Rue said. "It would be the next step up in my professional ladder."
Rue said she had not yet decided whether she will take the position if it is offered to her.
"Most of the interaction so far has been them interviewing me," she said. "I would need a lot of answers to questions I have that are not appropriate for met to ask yet."
It is too early to speculate as to when Rue would leave if she is offered and accepts the new position, she said, noting that she "would make every effort to make the transition as smooth as possible."
If Rue were to leave, University administrators would have a number of options, University Spokesperson Carol Wood said.
University Vice President for Student Affairs Pat Lampkin would coordinate the effort to fill Rue's place by immediately initiating a search committee or naming an interim official to the position while a longer search was conducted. Administrators also would have the option of restructuring the University's administrative organization to temporarily or permanently shift responsibility away form the Dean of Students' office, Wood said.
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