Howard students had a chance to assess the third and final candidate for Vice President of Student Affairs, Kevin W. Bailey, but few took the opportunity.
Scheduling has become a central issue for the Vice Presidential tours with candidates coming during midterms and Homecoming.
“I feel if it was not during homecoming week, there would have been more students,” said Victoria Kirby, graduate public administration student. “You have all these empty chairs, and you are only talking to about ten people.”
At any given moment, there were only four Howard students in the room to hear Bailey speak. The first two candidates’ tours, which occurred during midterms, were also poorly attended. The Provost tours over the summer when many students had gone home were also poorly attended.
Despite the empty chairs in Founders Library Browsing Room, Bailey gave his reasons for wanting to serve the students as the new Vice President of Student Affairs.
After spending two years as an accountant, Bailey decided to pursue a career in student affairs and has done so at Tulane, Millersville, Bowling Green State Universities and University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Bailey has been involved in student affairs for more than 20 years.
“I think this is a great time to be at the University. If selected, I will make a great impact on this campus,” Bailey said. “I like the way Howard University teaches, educates and prepares students to be leaders in the world.”
Like the other candidates, E. Newton Jackson, Jr. and Darnita R. Killian, Bailey said he wanted to create a friendly relationship with the students so that they may feel comfortable speaking openly with him.
“In terms of being visible, town hall meetings will be held for students to interact with me and my staff,” Bailey said.
He said town hall meetings will help generate the type of conversations needed to address the demands from the protest before tensions boil over. Bailey said the issues should not have been on paper but “on the table.”
Bailey said he will demonstrate his diligence to the commitments of students in ways that gives students assurance that he has their best interests at heart while representing them in the boardroom.
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