College of Charleston President Andrew T. Hsu shared the following message with the campus community on Wednesday, June 16, 2021: 

Dear Campus Community,

I am writing with an update regarding the Office of Community Relations.

This month, the Office of Community Relations was moved into the Division of Student Affairs. The relocation of this office’s duties and responsibilities is to ensure our town-and-gown relations are streamlined and aligned with our Student Affairs functions, following best practices of many universities. Please direct all queries and issues related to community relations to the student affairs team at studentaffairs@cofc.edu or 843.953.5522.

Evie Nadel, who has led the community relations team since joining the College in 2003, will remain in the President’s Office serving as the institutional ombudsperson, a dual role she has held since 2018 along with her duties within community relations. Liz Reeder, who has worked on the community relations team for 17 years, will report within the Division of Student Affairs structure.

While the duties of community relations have moved, Evie remains a resource to College of Charleston employees (both past and present), friends and family members regarding faculty and staff members who have passed away.

Now, as a full-time ombudsperson, Evie will continue to support the members of the campus community by providing a confidential and safe space to discuss any interpersonal conflicts or issues that an employee may be facing in the workplace. The ombudsperson works to provide options that may help empower employees and/or assist them in finding solutions. Per best practices, the ombudsperson is independent, impartial, neutral and informal (“informal” here means that the ombudsperson’s work falls outside of the Office of Human Relations’ state- and federal-mandated processes and protocols).

The ombudsperson role supports our faculty, staff and students in myriad ways, and this realignment of duties and responsibilities will ensure that we are properly resourcing our campus when it comes to employees and student needs, as outlined in our strategic plan.

Best,

Andrew

Andrew T. Hsu, Ph.D.
President
College of Charleston