In July, Columbia said goodbye to longtime Dean of Student Affairs Chris Colombo. Now, Kevin Shollenberger has been appointed as his replacement as Dean of Student Affairs. Shollenberger had been serving as interim dean since Colombo left.

Before becoming dean, Shollenberger was Associate Dean of Student Affairs for nine years. He is best known among students for his role in organizing the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Office of Student Group Advising, and various other parts of Columbia's bureaucratic alphabet soup.

Bwog, of course, will always love him for looking as dapper as he did at the ServiceNation summit (see picture).

Looks like Student Governing Board has got a room of their own--in Student Affairs, complete with a new Associate Dean, two advisors, and a financial assistant (although they've since been ironed out, SGB has a definite history of fiscal difficulties). According to a press release today, the SGB governing board is happy with how things worked out, and it looks like they played it well: by getting a "financial and managerial" commitment from Provost Brinkley and President Bollinger, they effectively nullified any objections to the staffing hike and independent office from Dean of Student Affairs Chris Colombo. Financial processes will be preserved--you'll still be able to get your funding voucher for a hastily-arranged event on short notice, without going through ABC-style paperwork. And the SGB governing board gets a say in the job description and hiring process of the new associate dean.

It worked out "better than expected," said Brett Murphy, B '07, a member of SCEG. But, she noted, "it's not how the administration should make decisions. I'm still wary of it."

Some groups will be sad to leave the Chaplain's office, even with the new cozy digs. CU Marching Bander John Shekitka, C '07, is a little worried about the idea of dealing with religious groups in the bureaucratic universe of Lerner Hall. "In a way such a move, I think, is a statement about the place of religion, suggesting that it can be understood and regulated by the same type of folks who handle ABC and SDA etc.," he wrote in an e-mail.

Bwog encourages vigilance! And hope there will continue to be Saigon Grill-catered Town Halls.