Penn State recently created two senior-level positions that administrators hope will give Student Affairs a stronger voice and improve overall student satisfaction and participation at the university.

The two new positions are in the Division of Student Affairs, one to increase co-curricular student involvement and the other to ensure that each Penn State campus gets a Student Affairs program of equal quality.

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said the hiring was part of Penn State President Graham Spanier's goal of making Penn State more student-centered.

"This is the number one priority of Student Affairs," Kendig said.

The Student Affairs staff was reorganized into the "Senior Leadership Team," which will improve each subdivision of Student Affairs, based on each person's area of specialty, said Vicky Triponey, vice president for Student Affairs.

It will include the newly hired Felicia McGinty and Michael Gilbert, as well as current administrators Philip Burlingame, assistant vice president of Student Affairs, and Gail Hurley, assistant vice president for housing and residence life.

Felicia McGinty, a 17-year student affairs professional and most recently the vice president of student affairs at the University of Maryland Baltimore County will begin work Aug. 15 as the new associate vice president for student engagement.

Money for McGinty's position came from cuts in the operating budget of all Student Affairs departments and will require no additional funding.

"I can't imagine students seeing a [quality] difference," Triponey said.

"[Student Affairs] staff will be traveling less and there will be less printed publications."

Triponey said the Student Engagement position was created partly because students and administrators have not been interacting as well as they should.

"If students are going to get the most out of college," Triponey said, "we must get to know students so that we can help shape their out-of-class experience."

Triponey added that McGinty's position marks the first time a senior-level administrator will work as a liaison with the Undergraduate Student Government.

According to a 2004 Penn State Student Affairs Satisfaction Survey that polled 3,770 students, about 49 percent of Penn State students were involved in club-sponsored co-curricular activities and 29 percent of Penn State students participated in community service.

"It's typical to have a subset of really involved students and others who aren't, who are just there for a degree and then a job," McGinty said.

Michael Gilbert, who has worked the past 10 years at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as housing services director, will begin work Aug. 1 as the new assistant vice president for campus student services at Penn State.

Hurley said Gilbert's main responsibilities include working as a liaison and supporting the director of Student Affairs on all 19 Penn State campuses.

She added that Gilbert would work closely with Triponey to coordinate activities at each commonwealth campus. Gilbert's position would help to create the same opportunities at other Penn State campuses that already exist at University Park, Triponey said.

Funding for Gilbert's position will come from a tuition increase a few years ago, which totaled $500,000 over a three-year period, Triponey said. Student Affairs felt it needed someone to oversee everything and help it with other Penn State campuses, she said.

"We should take a more collaborative approach," Triponey said. "We must be partners with students."