This semester has seen the exit of numerous faculty and staff members. While this behavior is typical at most institutions, Trinity has high numbers of interim and new staff across student affairs, residential life, student inclusion, belonging and engagement and Title IX this semester.
Turnover exists throughout campus but is especially present with the residential life team. Rachel Boaz-Toppel, former assistant director for residential education, has transitioned to a new position as interim director of residential life.
Meanwhile, Kerstin “Kas” Bryant is the interim assistant director of residential life and Dylan Pflum is a new upper-division residential life coordinator (RLC). This isn’t the first time Residential Life has faced turnover in their department. During the pandemic, they faced a 100% turnover rate according to a 2022 SGA brief.
The high turnover rate in residential life has resulted in a communication breakdown between students and staff. This summer Juliana Dold, junior psychology major, faced challenges with residential life when asking them if she could move in early because she wouldn’t be on campus for move-in weekend. After emailing three times and calling twice, she finally got a response from them.
“That whole process was just very frustrating, even though I didn’t know that was happening,” Dold said. “But looking at it in terms of they’re understaffed and they have new people coming in … it makes a lot of sense why this summer me and a bunch of other people I know were struggling to get a response.”
Joining the pack of new staff is Catherine Fragoso, stepping in as the interim director for student inclusion, belonging and engagement. Concurrently, Mindy Tran Champion, formerly the coordinator for student organizations and leadership, is now the assistant director for orientations and transitions and Kateeka Harris succeeds Angela Miranda-Clark as the interim Title IX coordinator.
Samantha Savoy, president of the Trinity Staff Engagement Council (TSEC), articulated staff-wide grievances about turnover.
“Turnover is difficult for every department on campus, as well as Trinity as a whole,” Savoy wrote in an email. “It’s an effort to keep operations rolling as normal when an area is short-staffed, and you never know how long it will take to hire that position.”
When faculty leave, it often leads to hiring visiting professors to fill the gap left behind in their absence. Dold mentioned difficulties with performing well in classes taught by visiting professors, which can be connected to university issues of not having enough professors to teach classes, creating a taxing environment for class registration.
“When faculty is moving in and out of our school so quickly, it’s really hard to form these one-on-one connections that Trinity wants to emphasize with our small class sizes,” Dold said. “It’s really obvious which professors are visiting and which are here for the long run. And I think that that’s where this becomes a noticeable issue in the class.”
While turnover is often expressed in terms of what is lost in a department, it also brings about new talent and experience. Meredith Borden, assistant chemistry professor, expressed her excitement to be at a school that emphasizes undergraduate success due to her experience at another small liberal arts college.
“It was the small environment, the way that the faculty got invested in me and tried to help me succeed,” Borden said. “They showed me all the opportunities that opened my eyes to this potential world which I fell really deeply in love with.”
Despite these possible benefits, Savoy expressed that turnover will continue to be a pressing issue on campus due to the ever-changing job market, and there’s no stopping it.
“They’ve done excellent work with the compensation studies, both for staff and faculty, and have committed to do regular studies to make sure we stay competitive,” Savoy wrote.
“These issues are so incredibly complex, and there are no easy or one-size-fits-all solutions,” Savoy wrote. “TSEC, however, will continue to advocate for staff and keep communication as open as possible with the chief human resources officer.”
