Two NIU faculty members have been given additional responsibilities to aid the Acting Vice President of Student Affairs, Barbara Henley, with her numerous tasks.

Donald Buckner, director of student housing, is Henley’s temporary special assistant and Larry Bolles, who heads NIU’s student judicial office, will serve as Henley’s temporary administrative assistant.

Henley deals with “the overall administration of Student Affairs,” which employs 200 staff members in 9 departments, she said. About 60 graduate students work with Student Affairs.

Henley, who was named acting vice president two months ago, was formerly the associate vice president as well as the assistant vice president of student affairs.

To aid Henley, Buckner will be “working closely with two very important areas as their supervisor,” she said. “The directors of University Programming and Activities and Campus Recreation will report directly to Buckner.”

Buckner also “will assist in coordinating the work of committees” and division task forces, Henley said. In working with the sexual assault task force, he is available “for policy guidance and attends meetings,” Buckner said.

An issue that consumes much of Buckner’s time is working on the NIU Steering Committee for the conference called “Racial Discrimination on Campus: Promoting Peer Initiatives and Student Action.” The conference, to be held Oct. 28 at NIU, already has 500 registrants, 140 from NIU, who are student leaders from Midwest colleges and universities, Buckner said.

“The Student Association has been very helpful in getting a maximum attendance from leaders by providing supplementary funding,” Buckner said.

Additionally, “any fiscal issues that arise,” such as room and board and student activity fees, are handled by Buckner as part of his work with bond revenue, Henley said.

Buckner coordinates the seminars of the Canon Fellowship Program, which “enhances individual skills” and is a “professional opportunity for Student Affairs members,” Henley said.

Since Buckner has responsibilites at student housing, he maintains “close communication on key issues” with Jack Felder, the associate director for student housing.

Bolles, as “a member of the management” for Henley, said he deals largely with crisis management, minority affairs within the division of Student Affairs and special projects, as well as “everything to support” Student Affairs and Henley’s position, Bolles said.

Crisis management, “anything that happens unexpectedly,” can range from racial incidents to accidents on campus, Henley said. Bolles has public relations duties as well – such as representing Henley at meetings when she is unavailable and dealing with certain calls or inquiries, Henley said.

Bolles currently is dedicated to minority student retention, which has a very low rate at NIU, he said. “It’s one thing to bring minorities here, and another to keep them,” Bolles said. He assesses areas in different departments and “will improve areas that need to be improved.”

As head of NIU’s student judicial office, Bolles works “on a day-to-day basis with students that commit violations,” he said. The office sees 3,500 cases each year, making NIU a “microcosm of society,” Bolles said.