Setting up a management team

It is the time of the year where we say good-bye to a number of our students. I hope to spend some time in the next two weeks developing profiles of the students that are leaving. We are going to be sorry to lose them.

This year I am losing two of my resident assistants. (If you don't know, the College appoints three students to assist the dean with the management of the men's residence.)

These resident assistant positions are some of the most responsible student leadership positions in the College. They come with some status, but they are also accompanied by a lot of very hard work. Work hours are irregular, responsibilities are quite large, and most RA's remark that other people do not really appreciate how hard they work. (In the last 10 years the College awarded two rewards to students who have made an exceptional contribution to life at the College. In both occasions these students were Assistant Deans - Sinneh Koroma, and Andile Masuku. This is another indication of the possibilities that the positions give for leadership)

Interestingly enough there is always great interest in this position! I like this. It means we are succeeding in one of the goals in the College. We are inspiring people with a passion for service and a vision to become leaders.

Because of the responsibilities that the College place on these students, the College management (Dean's council) generally does not appoint these positions on the basis of popular vote. We don't even follow the normal application process. We nominate names based on previous involvement and interest in the dormitory and then we decide. (In the social climate that we live in, this is not always accepted, and sometimes students feel that the process is unfair. It would be nice to have some debate on this.)

Anyway: Tomorrow the Dean's council will be meeting to discuss the following names. Some of them were suggested by the Dean, others were nominated by various students and leaders in the College. Some even came to me and expressed interest. In my mind each one of the following names will make excellent assistants. It is going to be interesting to see who eventually gets the position.

We will in all likelihood ask TJ Knipe to become the Assistant dean as he is the only one of the assistants who are not leaving, and because he has proven himself to be an involved and reliable leader.

The other two positions will be filled by one of the following people:

Thulane Mkhize
Sduduzo Blose
Nkosinathi Maneli
Mpho Mtombeni
Peter Webster
Loyiso Manga
Zandisile (Not a dormitory student)

The fact that these students names are on the short list is already an indication that we see them as having great potential. Hey! You can even point your prospective employer in a year or two's time to this blog and show them that somebody thought highly about you.

It is going to be interesting to see who will make part of the team. To those who don't make it: take comfort in the fact that we appreciate you and that there will be further opportunities for leadership in the future.

(I'd love to hear your comments on these guys.)