As many may know, Karl Radnitzer — Uni’s longtime Associate Director of Student Life — is retiring from his position effective August 2024.
We talked to the Uni community about what they’re looking for in a new Associate Director.
“I think [the new Associate Director] should have a good connection with the kids, you know? I feel like some principals … they barely know any kids and the kids barely know them. They’re just in their office. So it would be nice if they could form a connection, I think that’s always good” — Maggie Li, senior
“[Dr. Radnitzer is] going to be so hard to replace. Our family loves him. He is so kind to all the students and families. I felt like he really cared about each student, and so if they could find someone else with that level of compassion and dedication to the students, that would be awesome” — Mary Kate-Arend, Uni parent
“I just hope that they’re involved as K-Rad [Dr. Radnitzer] is, he’s at every event including the dances… He goes on the Clarksdale trip every year and he shows up for all the concerts and theater productions and he’s got the candy in his office, it just feels like there’s a real connection with him and the student body” — Emily Duong, senior
“I would prefer someone who cares about the wellbeing of the students, rather than enforcing policies and … having the priority [of] making sure the students have a good experience at Uni. [Dr. Radnitzer is] really nice and very chill and I just want someone who can relate to the students and understand what we are going through and stuff” — DJ Wang, freshman
“I think just having a person who really cares about the students would be really important and also someone who has a vision that aligns with our current vision of the school. Maintaining the feeling of open lockers and the ‘Uni-ness’ of the school. We won’t want someone who comes in from maybe a more rule-bound institution that wants to impose that onto Uni. I don’t think that would be a good fit. So someone who loves this population to work with and is flexible in just fitting into Uni” — DoMonique Arnold, Uni librarian
“[Dr Radnitzer is] really nice and I think that he’s good at his job and he cares about his students, so just someone who cares about the students and is willing to help beyond classes” — Khadeejah Rasheed, senior
“[Dr. Radnitzer] really cares about the students and their achievements… He literally established that Senior Project class and he really cares about you pursuing your passions or things you wanna do and stuff like that. He helps the students do the best they can. He really cares about the students and I hope a new … Associate Director would be the same” — Savindi Devmal, senior
“Assistant director is a learning-centered school administrator committed to shared governance and approaches that support the student. So learning-centered means it’s mostly about the fact that this is a place to learn that we’re focused on learning and growing, not just on rules and structures, and all the rules and structures and all the logistics are there to support the learning. And so we want someone who keeps that in mind and is interested in learning and facilitating learning. … We make decisions together, rather than the administrator feeling like the best way is for them to make decisions and then have that come down to the top, that there’s a voice for the faculty” — Elizabeth Majerus, Uni Director and Principal
