Vice President for Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez is no stranger to budgeting crises. Gonzalez was asked to come to Georgetown at a time when the University was making historic financial changes. Yet Gonzalez has made questionable additions to Student Affairs while neglecting valid student needs.
In the term before his arrival, the Georgetown University Board of Directors announced a partnership agreement with MedStar Health to oversee operationsof Georgetown Medical Center, which reported losses of $83 million in fiscal year 1999.
At the time, Gonzalez’ reputation as a budgeting genius was surely an attractive trait for a new Vice President for Student Affairs. At his last position at California Polytechnic State University, Gonzalez was forced to assume control of the student government, a $10 million corporation, and deal with such issues as student embezzlement and financial inefficiency. When he arrived in Student Affairs at Georgetown, then-Provost Dorothy Brown asked him to cut his department budget by 10 percent.
Despite his initial efforts to tighten University spending, Gonzalez seems to have forgotten the importance of using the budget responsibly.
In almost four years as Vice President for Student Affairs, Gonzalez has created one high-level full-time position as well as four other positions within Student Affairs. Last spring, Gonzalez announced the creation of a new Special Assistant to the Vice President to review the services provided by the University for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community.
Gonzalez announced in October his intention to appoint Mary Dluhy to this position, which he changed from specifically addressing the needs of LGBTQ students to mediating conflict between various campus groups. Since Dluhy does not deal specifically with LGBTQ issues, Gonzalez said he intends to hire another administrator to fulfill the original responsibilities of the Special Assistant.
The decision to hire two half-time administrators in light of the assumed budget constraints is questionable. Both administrators will work 20 hours a week and would receive half-time salaries with prorated benefits. Paying the two administrators would be more expensive than hiring one full-time administrator.
In addition to the two half-time administrators, Gonzalez created an Assistant Director of Student Conduct position at the beginning of the fall 2002 term. In his time here, Gonzalez has also created positions for both an Associate Vice President and his Administrative Assistant.
Upon hearing that the free, confidential HIV testing program will not be implemented due to a lack of funding, the University community should question the priorities of Student Affairs. Georgetown does not have the money to throw salaries around if students’ needs are not being met.
