Director of Residential Life Logan Hazen announced his intention to retire in August, after 17 years at UR.
“I am retiring from UR, but not from the world,” Hazen said. “This is the right time for me to retire. We have gotten tons done, but I want to stay fresh.”
Hazen is proud of his impact on residential life, including changes to the Residential Advisor program, freshman housing, ResTV and ResNet, as well as $40 million in renovations to residence halls.
“When I first got here, if half the toilets, half the sinks and half the showers in Hoeing [Hall] were working, then it was a good day,” Hazen said. “ResNet was built from scratch – it is a huge system and now it is recognized nationally. Also, student satisfaction is in the top five percent in the country, which is something we are very proud of.”
With the improvements that he has brought to UR, those who have worked close with Hazen are sad to see him retire.
“Logan brought a lot of innovation when he came here,” Dean of Students Jody Asbury said. “The course he brought for RAs is an innovation. He is the lead person in ResNet and has taken great leadership in that area. He has also written and developed a diversity education program, all of which have been great.”
His great improvements to the RA program have allowed current RAs to feel very close to Hazen.
“As training to become an RA, we spent a week at school going over the ins and outs of the RA position with Hazen and other representatives from ResLife,” sophomore Gabe Chodak said. “He really gave us a lot of preparation. Hazen was very outgoing and he knew how things should be done. He has definitely done a lot for the school, not just for ResLife, and he will surely be missed.”
Hazen gave the administration six months notice before his retirement, and the search is underway for a new director of residential life.
“I think since Hazen has done such a good job it will attract a lot of great candidates for the position,” Vice President Paul Burgett said. “I am not directly involved with the new hire process, but I hired Hazen – he was my first hire. Usually, when UR is filling an important position, we will conduct a search for a new hire that will sometimes be national. There are often several rounds of interviews that can be conducted by faculty, staff and students,” Burgett said.
Dean of The College William Green is in charge of the new hiring process, but he was unable to be reached for comment.
“Hazen has been a wonderful colleague, and he has done tremendously important work,” Burgett said. “Whoever is hired is starting in a strong position, and very good candidates will be considered to fill this void.”
This sentiment was echoed by many of Hazen’s colleagues.
“It has been a pleasure working with Logan,” Associate Director of Residential Life Laurel Contomanolis said. “He is a great guy who has brought a lot to UR, and he will definitely be missed.”
Paret can be reached at eparet@campustimes.org.
