Former Dean of Students Raymond Ou formally informed the campus of his resignation in a mass e-mail to the Concordia community on Dec. 14, and on Dec. 20, Bruce Vieweg was named the Interim Dean of Students.
Ou gave his resignation notice to Provost Mark Krejci shortly before the campus was notified with the mass e-mail.
“It was disappointing that it occurred,” Krejci said. “Sometimes these things just happen. I fully understand why it happened, and I wish him nothing but the best. I think he has a lot to offer.”
After Ou’s resignation, Krejci consulted with Interim President Paul Dovre to decide who would be a good Interim Dean of Students, and the two men quickly came to Bruce Vieweg, associate provost and chief information officer, according to Krejci.
“The advantage of [Vieweg] taking over is that he’s already a member of the President’s Cabinet and he also knew the people in Student Affairs from the Banner implementation,” Krejci said.
Even though he hasn’t had this new position for long, Krejci said Vieweg has been a very good leader who knows Concordia, the campus and the people.
“He’s just a very good person at forming teams and getting things, progressing, moving things onward,” Krejci said. “He has a boundless amount of energy.”
The decision to name a new Dean of Students will arise once a new President is in place, which will determine what kind of search is performed, according to Krejci, for that position which is fairly new to campus.
Vieweg said he was sad when he heard of Ou’s resignation from the mass e-mail, but he understands the situation.
“I didn’t probe,” he said. “I think we should take him at his word. He resigned and was seeking other employment. I think we ought to focus on saying bless his heart and best wishes.”
Having all these new responsibilities on top of his current workload has pushed Vieweg, but he said he’s excited about this position.
“I’m a little concerned about my capacity, but on the other hand, I love the people who work in Student Affairs,” he said. “I love the students at Concordia, and we can make it work. I think what I do well is provide a certain style of leadership and communication, and that’s what we need as much as anything right now.”
Vieweg said he doesn’t need a lot of sleep, but his first few weeks under this new position have been steady, keeping him busy.
“I get on campus between 3 and 3:30 a.m. and I work until 6,” he said. “Normally there are blank times in between but there haven’t been very many blank times this week. It’s a good busy, though.”
Senior Erik George, president of Student Government Association, met Ou over the summer when he was hired. Since he began at Concordia, Ou had been involved with SGA, especially with the Executive Team, George said, which included regular meetings to discuss platforms initiatives and ensure progress was being made.
“Dean Ou was dedicated to bettering Concordia and to authentically connecting with the student body,” George said. “He made great progress in promoting sustainability and the LGBT community at Concordia, two topics I am extremely passionate about, as well as a variety of other projects and initiatives. Because of his passion for Concordia, I was shocked and sad to see he had resigned as Dean of Student Affairs.”
Despite the sudden resignation, George said the campus is blessed to have Vieweg serve as the Interim Dean of Students.
“Bruce’s enthusiasm for Concordia and ability to effectively challenge and change the norm when necessary will allow him to be an excellent Dean.”
Editor’s Note: Raymond Ou could not be reached for comment.
