We’re Hiring! Students lend a hand in picking new leadership

By Mia Timlin

You’ve probably noticed high volumes of turnover on campus in the past couple years. Whether it’s the chair of an academic department, a new faculty professor, a vice president or the president of the university itself, if you’re currently a student on campus, you’re familiar with the idea that St. Kate’s is hiring. Maybe you’ve done more than just notice—maybe you’ve been a part of that hiring itself. Perhaps you were blind carbon-copied on an email blast, or shoulder tapped by some higher-ups doing the hiring. However you came by your seat at that table, it’s an important seat to be in.

“I think it's important to have student input for hiring processes because ultimately it's the students who are going to be taking classes from these people,” says Zoe McKillip ‘26 (Economics and Philosophy). “While professors who have been at St. Kate's for a while know what to look for, hiring candidates are going to treat the students differently than they'll treat the professors because it is a different relationship. St. Kate's is a small community and whoever does get hired is going to have a lot of contact with students in and outside the classroom.”

Co-Chair of the Student Senate’s Academic Affairs, Olivia Lien ‘26 (History and English, Linguistics minor), says that she takes her role on campus into consideration when entering into hiring meetings. 

“I go into these faculty hiring sessions knowing that I’m there to share my unique perspective as an individual student, to accurately represent my constituents' concerns and to ultimately report back to the greater Student Senate,” said Lien. 

This integration of student voice into the hiring process varies from position to position and department to department. Some initiatives focus on roundtables that allow students to talk directly to candidates and offer feedback later, while others involve student communication with the task forces responsible for picking out the candidates, regarding what they want and are hoping for in new leadership. 

Other searches, such as the current search for a new professor in the Economics and Political Science Department, consist of a combination of tactics that can give students a good feel for how the candidate would function in the potential position.

“I try to go into them ready to get to know someone and prepared to pay attention,” says McKillip, regarding the hiring events they attended. “Especially if it's an in-class demonstration. If you zone out you're doing both the candidate and yourself a disservice. I focus on the pace the professor goes and how in-depthly they explain certain concepts. Especially because often the demonstrations they're doing are in classes full of first-year students, or it's a class unrelated to the field the candidate is actually giving a demonstration on. So being able to explain concepts to a group of people with little to no knowledge of it already is super important to me.”

These mock-classes give students a chance to learn about a candidate beyond their resume and interview skills. They have been followed by lunch, allowing time for students and the interviewee to ask questions and get to know each other. 

Including and hopefully applying student opinion into these hiring processes goes a long way in demonstrating that students are more than just the bodies on campus, but the lifeblood of the university. It provides an opportunity to put into practice the mantra of “lead and influence” by lending a serious ear to the idea that the students being taught to be leaders should have some say in their education.

“Although I initially experienced some imposter syndrome, I eventually reconciled with the fact that students were specifically asked by faculty and administration to take up space because they want to hear our opinions,” Lien says. “These hiring sessions have made me feel more included and involved on campus. It's a comforting reminder to know that as the world feels out of control right now, we still have power and influence within our own communities and campus, even though it might appear different.”