In an email to the Monmouth community on March 28, The University administrators announced the new Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, who will be starting on April 11. Her name is Tara M. Fuller.
In the email by Vice President of Student Life and Leadership Engagement Mary Anne Nagy wrote, “She will begin a search immediately for an Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life to round out her team along with a Graduate Assistant. The future success of the Fraternity and Sorority Community is a critical priority of mine and this investment in additional staff to support your experience as a member of this community is one of many ways to achieve this success.”
The Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life position was formally held by Michelle Kaplan until she stepped down in the fall 2018 semester. Greek life was suspended by the University in the fall 2018 semester and the University utilized this time to find Kaplan’s successor.
Fuller is currently working at John Hopkins University as the Senior Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life. She started at Johns Hopkins in 2015 as an Assistant Director, but was promoted earlier this year. She was also employed under Residential Life and Greek Life positions at Rider University and Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.
Fuller is from Milltown, New Jersey and earned her Bachelor’s in Multicultural Leadership from the University of Maryland, College Park, then obtained her Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership degree from Rider University. She is an alumna of Alpha Delta Pi sorority and acted as a Leadership Consultant for them from 2009 through 2010. She still continues to volunteer for Alpha Delta Pi as a Province Director.
Nagy described the selection and hiring process Fuller underwent. “There was a search committee that helped with selection.” The people on this committee were Associate Vice President for Student Life James Pillar, Area Coordinator Tony Conard, Substance Awareness Coordinator Suanne Schaad, and former Coordinator for Transitions in Leadership Katherine Browna. Conard has acted as an advisor to Delta Phi Epsilon and Schaad was advisor to Theta Xi. “They looked at a number of candidates, I don’t know the final number, and then it came down to four candidates they brought to campus. Each candidate was here for a full day and got to meet with a variety of people, including our students.”
According to the Johns Hopkins News-Letter, their official school newspaper, “[In 2018], the Hopkins chapter of Alpha Delta Phi was placed under interim suspension due to hazing allegations and violations of a cease and desist order related to a sexual assault. Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which hosted a party where a woman was raped in 2014, is also inactive yet continues to operate underground.”
Fuller was present, and in Nagy’s words “the success of those communities now is in great part because of the work that she was able to do there.”
Josh Rodriquez, a freshman music industry student and someone interested in Greek life, said, “I think she’s going to do a pretty good job. She seems very qualified. I’m looking forward to what she will do in the position.”
Kemal Kansu, a senior finance student and someone not involved in Greek life, disagrees. “I think that it wouldn’t do anything positive,” said Kansu on Fuller’s hiring.
Calie Valore, a senior marketing and IT student, is hopeful for Fuller’s transition. “I think (she) will do great things in pushing Greek life in the right direction. I would like to see them change the Greek stereotypes and focus on the positives that Greeks do.”
“It’s really important when you hire someone, you’re also hiring them not just for their experience and when they could bring, but you want to make sure it’s someone that’s going to fit in the comm,” said Nagy. “Our students are comfortable with the candidate. You can see them fitting in to a team; Tara certainly fit that.”
IMAGE TAKEN from Johns Hopkins .edu
