New UH housing chief digs into work
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
Margit Misangyi Watts has plunged into what is currently the toughest job at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa campus — stepping into the controversial position of interim director of housing following the firing of housing director Darryl Zehner.
"What the chancellor is calling for is a culture change," said Watts, who within hours of the announcement of her appointment yesterday was starting to move on a number of key ideas about how to build a more enriching campus life for Manoa's 3,000 dorm students.
"We want to put more life on campus," said the former director of two programs for freshmen — Freshman Seminars and Rainbow Advantage — that offer academic enrichment. "And one of the things is to have it open 24 hours so kids don't have to go other places.
"By January we're hoping to open a 24-hour student information/ study center/lounge/ sundry store/ coffee bar," she said. It will be a place where students can buy a folder at 3 a.m., she said, or find a quiet corner to finish up a project or have a cup of coffee with a friend.
Another quick fix will be free weekend shuttles between campus and the Ward entertainment complex and Waikiki.
"There would be pickup at 1, 2 or 3 a.m., no questions asked," she said. "If we can't have the town here, then we need to make it easier to go there and come back. We'll look into that and see what we can do."
Watts began by meeting with dorm staff, residential assistants and students to ask what they feel is needed, and says she is looking forward to quickly putting into place a number of short-term solutions to offer more activities.
She has also begun to approach the wealth of departments on campus and ask them to offer ideas for campus events during the evenings and weekends, such as theater or dance performances on the mall.
"Things that don't cost money (for students)," she said.
But she's also thinking about showing movies on the mall as the city does on the beach, perhaps with Sodexho barbecuing hamburgers for the crowd.
"We need to do a lot more things," said Watts. "They need to be entertaining, educational, challenging and fun. And they have to have food."
For the long term, she's beginning to look at how to add more dorms and more beds to the campus, but residential areas that fuse residential and academic life.
She is also looking at how to deal with the endless repairs needed at the dorms including new screens and painting, and wonders if the general look of these residential areas has been defeating for staff.
"How much does that affect how people's attitudes are about their jobs?" she asks. "So far what I see are lots and lots of problems like that, and maybe they've not had the administrative support until now to come up with solutions.
"What I'm hearing is they've thought of many good ideas but who is helping get them done? Now we're taking a much closer look at how Manoa feels to a student and putting support behind how we treat students and what we can do to rethink resources."
Chancellor Peter Englert said that Watts has his "full support" in taking over the troubled housing office and said he has been impressed with her ideas for change. "A safe and nurturing environment for our on-campus resident students is critical to their success at Manoa," he said.
Before appointing Watts, Englert abruptly terminated Zehner's contract shortly after the fall semester began in September. He offered little explanation, saying personnel issues are confidential. Zehner said he was given no reason for the dismissal.
But there have been a number of letters to the editor in Ka Leo, the UH-Manoa student newspaper, expressing both support and criticism of housing under Zehner.
Watts earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan and received her master's in social work and Ph.D. in American studies from UH-Manoa.
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
