As Vice President for Student Services Tom Crady spends the last two weeks of the semester cleaning out his desk, students and staff on campus will continue to welcome the three candidates vying to become the new Student Affairs head.

Ron Chesbrough, vice president for Student Affairs at Hasting College; Kim Barrett, associate vice chancellor at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire; and Houston Dougharty, dean of Students at Lewis and Clark College, are the finalists chosen after a search was conducted by the selection committee formed earlier this semester. While on campus, the candidates will be meeting with representatives from Student Affairs, the Executive Council, SGA and the Multicultural Leadership Council.

The candidates were chosen following significant review by the selection committee, consisting of Administrative Support Assistant Carol Ahrens, Special Assistant to the President Elena Bernal '94, SGA President Megan Goering '08, Chair of the Faculty Eliza Willis and Dean of the College Jim Swartz. "Members of the search committee have been completely unified in looking for someone who will support the kind of programs Tom has created since he has been here," said Goering. "We want somebody who will fit the culture of Grinnell."

In her recent State of the College address, Goering added that the candidates all expressed a desire to maintain the tradition of self-governance.

After the review process is completed, President Russell K. Osgood will make the final decision about Crady's replacement. Osgood said he hopes to have a decision made and the position filled by the end of the year. "I'm not a fan of interims," Osgood said. Osgood plans to accept input from faculty, staff and students in addition to the selection committee, and will personally meet with the candidates while they are on campus and later if needed.

Osgood added that he feels confident that the selection committee has offered solid candidates, and that they all responded to an ad that called Grinnell a "student-focused" environment. When considering the qualifications needed for the job, Osgood said there are three key attributes he is looking for in the candidates. "I want someone who ... is sympathetic to students, they listen ... they're aware of [student's] ups and downs and their aspirations," he said. "[I want] someone who, if they see an issue, will realize that bad things can happen and we need to be careful and cautious ... [and] I think we need someone with some significant experience in the field."

Osgood said that Crady represented each of these needed values-compassion, experience and caution-and acknowledged that he would be difficult to replace. "When he is on duty," Osgood said, "I don't worry."