August 14 — On the same day Daniel S. Goldin committed to being president of Boston University, administrators also said former BU employee Kenneth Elmore will fill the vacancy in the Dean of Students Office.
In addition to having a new Dean, the office will undergo structural changes. Elmore will serve only as Dean of Students and not hold a Vice President position, as former deans have done. The Dean of Students Office and and the enrollment division will merge, bringing the new creation under the direction of VP of Enrollment Anne Shea.
“It will really follow students from the time they inquire about the university to the time they become alumni,” Shea said.
Previously, the Dean of Students office reported to Provost Dennis Berkey, but all information will now flow through the enrollment office, Shea said.
Elmore, who previously served as the associate director of residence life, will now become the Dean of Students. Former Dean W. Norman Johnson, Associate Dean Herbert A. Ross and Assistant Dean Andrew Klein all resigned this summer, leaving Assistant Dean J. Allen Ward as the only summer holdover.
Elmore was unavailable for comment Thursday night, but university officials praised his hiring as a step in the right direction. Shea said Elmore was an excellent choice to fill the position.
“He involved himself in all kinds of university activities and volunteer activities in his community and he attended law school full time while he” worked as the associate dean of residence life, Shea said. “He’s had a lot of leadership experience.”
Chancellor John Silber, Executive Vice President Joseph Mercurio, Berkey and Shea gathered to discuss what to do about the vacancies in the office. Shea said she offered to take over the duties on an interim basis, but the four soon had another idea.
“We started tossing around ideas and one of our concerns was ‘How do we get the right person for this position without depleting our resources here at the university?'” Shea said. “Pretty much, simultaneously, we all said, What abut Ken Elmore? Do you think he’d come back to BU?'”
After talking to Elmore about the possibility of him becoming the next dean of students, the decision was made to offer him the position.
“We did consider a number of other possibilities, but after talking to Mr. Elmore, he was a clear, good choice,” Shea said. “The response of the dean of students staff today was overwhelmingly positive.”
BU spokesman Kevin Carleton made it clear that Elmore would be an acting dean until the Board of Trustees ratifies his appointment.
Elmore, who currently lives with his wife and two children in Lexington, won’t be a stranger to the BU community, Shea said, adding he would be living closer to students that they may think.
“He’s going to be living on campus,” Shea said, adding that he would probably be in an “apartment on Bay State Road.”
Elmore attended graduate school at Boston University, receiving his master’s degree in 1987 following a bachelor’s from Brown University in 1985. He received his Juris Doctorate in 2001, graduating from the New England School of Law with honors.
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