Yolanda Jordan will leave the Rubenstein School on July 22 to take a position in UVM’s Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity in the Waterman Building. The School community first met Yolanda in 2009 while she worked in the UVM President’s and Provost’s Offices and coordinated dean’s searches for the Rubenstein School and two other units on campus.
After Mary Watzin was appointed Dean of the School, as a result of the internal dean’s search, she hired Yolanda to work in the Dean’s Office as an assistant to the Associate Dean. Yolanda’s five years in the School spanned the terms of four associate deans including Carl Newton, Margaret Shannon, Chuck Hulse, and currently Allan Strong.
First and foremost, Yolanda took on the colossal job of Schedule of Courses for the School. She made sure our students could register spring, summer, and fall for the courses they need.
Besides course scheduling, Yolanda assumed many different duties as Assistant to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Faculty Development. She was responsible for faculty appointment and reappointment letters, key and catcard access, scheduling Aiken classrooms, keeping Associate Dean Allan Strong’s calendar, and handling day-to-day needs of faculty, staff, and visitors in the Dean’s Office. She also served as the School’s Notary Public and coordinated many school-wide events.
“I will miss the diverse group of people in the Rubenstein School – people with different expertise and personalities.” Yolanda shares. “I learned a lot from the faculty and staff about the environment – things I’ve always taken for granted – trees and especially birds, being within earshot of Allan Strong’s office! I also learned a lot about change and how important it is not to lose sight of who we are and what we stand for.”
Most recently for Dean Nancy Mathews, Yolanda coordinated five faculty search committees, including a rare cluster hire committee for the Environmental Program. The searches resulted in the appointment of six new faculty to the School. Last year, she managed the faculty search for the Blittersdorf Professor of Sustainability Science and Policy which brought Associate Professor Jennie Stephens to the School.
“We are deeply appreciative of Yolanda’s dedicated support and service to the School,” states Dean Mathews. “She played a significant role in the search committees that led to the successful hire of six outstanding faculty members this past spring, and has earned a reputation as an outstanding event coordinator.”
“In many ways, Yolanda was the face of the Aiken Center,” acknowledges Associate Dean Strong. “She greeted students, visitors, faculty, and staff with a welcoming smile. She had wonderful relationships with offices across campus, and she will be greatly missed by the Rubenstein School community.”