JOBS CUT AND SALARIES RAISED IN STUDENT SERVICES SHUFFLE

By Kiera Toffelmire

Four employees working for student services will reap the benefits of Ryerson administrators Maxine Laine and Liz Devine’s recent lay-offs.

On Nov. 1, Student Services will be kicking a new internal management structure into action. The 14 services offered to students will be grouped into four different portfolios based on their relevance to one another.

This means four new directors will overlook the services within their assigned portfolio and report back to Vice Provost, Students Heather Lane Vetere, who began her position at Ryerson in May.

“It was really an exploration of who the four strongest people for the job are,” said Lane Vetere, who chose directors already working within Student Services.

The chosen directors along with their soon-to-be titles are: Tony Conte, director of the office of Vice Provost, Philip Lim, the career development and employment skills director, Glen Weppler, the director of student community life and Su-Ting Teo, the student wellness director.

The selected directors, who will soon be responsible for at least three services, will not go unrewarded.

Since Student Services received no funding for this restructuring, the elimination of Laine and Devine’s administrative jobs mean raises for the new directors.

“We have eliminated the director and assistant director positions and will distribute the salary costs over new director positions,” said Lane Vetere.

Marion Creery, who retires at the end of October after 20 years at Ryerson, was the director of all 14 student services for years.

“The institution is too large and there is too much happening for only one person to be director of all that stuff,” said Lane Vetere.

To develop this new structure, Lane Vetere spent four months speaking with everyone involved in student services to determine the strategy best-suited to Ryerson.

“I’m excited about this. We’ll be able to coordinate our activities better and develop new synergies,” said Weppler, one of the four directors gaining from Laine and Devine’s losses.

Conte is the Student Information and Advising Centre manager and will assist Lane Vetere in managing all the portfolios in his new position as director of her office. Conte will also work closely with Aboriginal student services, which has its own separate sector.

Although these internal changes are not expected to effect students right away, Lane Vetere said she thinks the new structure will be a more efficient way to bring student needs to the budget table.