The Panther

Media Credit: Evan White

Several departments of campus administration have undergone changes in the fall of 2007.

Dr. Clement Glenn, was named interim associate vice president for student affairs.

The former interim associate vice president for student affairs, Dr. Kelvin Kirby, recently resigned from the position in order to return to his faculty position in the College of Engineering.

Glenn, who is a professor in the graduate program of the College of Education, also serves as speaker of the faculty senate, but must soon resign from that position because of his new administrative position in student affairs.

His approach to student affairs is an ambitious, student-centered program that focuses on five aspects of student life to ultimately improve graduation rates for incoming freshmen.

"I'm excited about these changes. I think they'll really make a difference," said Sharon Lewis, a senior education major.

"Dr. Glenn is a great professor and I'm sure he'll be a wonderful addition to the office of student affairs," Lewis continued.

Currently, graduation rates for the incoming freshman class of 2002 stand at 34 percent (these figures are based on a six-year benchmark), but Glenn hopes to improve that figure to as high as 70 percent for students of the incoming 2009 class.

"To do this," Glenn said, "I am attempting to both integrate the Office of Student Affairs with other campus services; the University College, the campus police department, and the health and wellness center, as well as making professors more active in the campus community."

"I want to work on student-centered issues," Glenn continued, outlining his prospects for the future of Prairie View as a faculty-student collaborative.

" And I'm hoping to focus on improving student graduation rates, improving the health and wellness programs, improving individual student achievement, student retention, and student recruitment."

Glenn said that his position is a unique one, and hopes to make the Office of Student Affairs the center of campus life for Prairie View students.

Other administrative changes are in the engineering and education colleges.

Dr. Kendall Harris was recently appointed dean of the College of Engineering. Harris, a former associate dean, replaced Dr. Milton Bryant who retired in August.

Dr. Laxley Rodney was named interim dean of the College of Education, replacing Dr. Paul Mehta who retired as dean in August.

Neither Harris nor Rodney could be reached for comment.

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