Butler University President Jim Danko created a new position in his office and filled vacancies in two others, he announced in an April 2 memo.

The university now has an executive assistant to the Board of Trustees, a role filled by Carol Wroblewski.  Wroblewski is a former associate provost at Butler.  She will communicate with trustees  and work to involve them in university events, tasks previously left to the president’s assistant.

Danko hired Heather Vaughn, a former Rolls-Royce official, as his executive assistant. Vaughn replaces former Bobby Fong aide Ellen Clark, who retired after Fong left to become president at Ursinus College.

Cate Marshall replaces the departed Velinda Bennett as office assistant.  Marshall was a board administrator for the Indianapolis Department of Public Safety.

“What is common when you had a president in place as long as Bobby, you have staff changes,” said Ben Hunter, Chief of Staff and Executive Director of Public Safety.  “This restructuring increases our flexibility.”

Hunter moved his office from the Butler University Police Department to the president’s office in January.  Although most of his duties haven’t changed, Hunter assumed one major new one: direct oversight of compliance with state and federal regulations.

“By heart, I’m a policy wonk,” Hunter said. “Now that the staff is in place, it affords me the ability to get to those projects and those issues.”

Hunter said priority must be given to following the Clery Act and Title IX law, and he can now do that by working more closely with Danko.

“It’s a good fit,” he said. “It works out well with my background.”

Wroblewski, approaching 15 years of experience at Butler, said her position is a work in progress since she started work March 19.  She remains in the process of meeting the Board of Trustees.

“It’s fascinating to get to know this diverse group of people so intimately involved with the university,” she said.

Wroblewski holds weekly phone conversations with Chair John Hargrove.

Vaughn is in her fifth week at Butler, and Marshall is in her fourth.  Each said working with Danko is exciting.

“I can appreciate his perspective,” Vaughn said. “He’s business-minded. I have a similar mindset.”

Marshall said the Butler community has been very welcoming.

“I’ve been thrilled with people just stopping by to introduce themselves,” she said.  “I couldn’t be happier.”

Danko was out of town and unavailable for comment.

Hunter said Vaughn, Marshall and Wroblewski fit Danko’s innovative style of leadership.

“You want a president’s office that’s inviting and has great dynamics,” Hunter said. “President Danko has achieved that. It’s nice to have outstanding people who will offer a great atmosphere when people walk in the door.”

Hunter also said having a liaison to the Board of Trustees is a critical step.

“You have the board guiding our university in so many ways, having so many meetings a year, so it is important strategically,” Hunter said.

Wroblewski, who holds a doctorate degree in counseling psychology from Ball State University, said she doesn’t know how Clark managed board relations on top of other
duties.

“I am more than busy,” Wroblewski said. “That leads me to believe she was doing an incredible amount of work.”

Wroblewski said the trick, though, is to decide what information is need-to-know.

“That’s the core issue this first year,” she said. “I would hate to waste these busy peoples’ time.”

Vaughn said her biggest job is managing Danko’s calendar.  She said her new position applies many skills used in a 15-year career at Rolls-Royce.

“I just like helping people,” Vaughn said. “I feel that’s what my purpose is. It’s me.”

Vaughn said she has enjoyed Danko’s sense of humor.

“I don’t know if we’ll end up doing practical jokes,” she said, “but we’ll keep it lighthearted.”

Vaughn applied to be Danko’s aide after serving with Hunter on Indianapolis’ Super Bowl Host Committee.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard Butler is a wonderful place to work,” Vaughn said.  “I felt I made a very good decision. It’s proven so.”

When student leaders apply, campaign for and put hours into their roles, they should also be able to defend themselves on their own.

It’s time to take the training wheels off of Student Government Association.

While I believe that faculty advisers for Student Government Association have good intentions, some of the actions in assembly leave me thinking they are overinvolved.

Last Wednesday, Dean of Student Life Irene Stevens’ announcement at the student assembly is a prime example.

In reference to The Collegian’s recent push for data from SGA’s recent elections, Stevens inferred that the push for this information has caused a sort of chaos on campus.

“There’s a tone that (SGA adviser) Caroline Huck-Watson or (SGA President) Al Carroll would do anything dishonest,” Stevens said. “I wish the tone was more civil.”

Executive board members were appointed to these positions by fellow students.

When a staff member—meant to serve the entire university, not just SGA—makes an announcement like this, it undermines the trust fellow students put in their leaders to make informed, grown-up decisions.

SGA assembly is a place for students to take the initiative, so staff advice simply isn’t warranted.

Administrators should take a hint from President Jim Danko, who has emphasized his belief that faculty should have supreme reign over Faculty Senate.

I would like to see advisers take a back-seat role in SGA.

If the Collegian can independently put out a newspaper each week, SGA leaders should be able to do their jobs all by themselves, too.

For a short-staffed faculty like Butler University’s, the hiring of a person with a doctorate degree is a good idea.

Unless it’s to be an aide to President Jim Danko.

The level of qualification for the hiring is ironic because the university is dropping its internship coordinator in the College of Communication.

This seems to come at a time when CCOM is becoming more popular on campus.

Yet, the university is losing qualified teachers and struggling to foot the bill for some programs, like the core.

On a broader scale the school could hire more well-qualified professors instead of hiring more administrative personnel.

I have interned as a secretary for a boys and girls club.

The work wasn’t easy but compared to the office of the president; it had less responsibilities.

With that said, I feel confident that someone with a bachelor’s or even a master’s degree could handle the responsibilities of executive assistant to the Board of Trustees.

From my experiences, organizational skills are the most important for any administrative assistant.

Certainly anyone with a lot or a little education can be extremely organized.

The most important thing college teaches a student is the ability to prioritize, yet our school hasn’t learned this.

I am sure the person Butler hired is well-rounded and everything they looked for in a candidate, but my issue is that we should put someone with that background in a classroom to educate students.

We should not put them behind a desk, where their skills will be under-utilized. Butler’s administration has this continual problem of wrongly prioritizing important resources.

If Butler wants to employ more people with doctorates, they should do so.

Employ those doctors as teachers.

Administrative assistants and advisors play vital roles.

But without educators, the university ceases to exist.