Madonna McDermott, the former director of Health Services and the Wellness Center, is now serving as the interim dean of students after the previous dean, Karen Lange, became vice president of student affairs.

McDermott’s duties as dean of students include coordinating between St. Thomas departments and working toward preassigned goals for the position. Though she misses her old team, McDermott said she is excited to be in her new position.

“Everyday I’m learning something new,” McDermott said. “You think you have a good understanding of how the university operates on a certain level, but this provides me with a lot more in-depth view on what these departments and individuals do to help the students have a successful experience here. There’s a lot of good people doing a lot of great work.”

Chosen by Lange as her replacement, McDermott has been with St. Thomas for 14 years and has a Master of Science and a Master of Public Administration. Her experience and history with the university have prepared her for the position, according to Lange.

“Madonna is a visionary leader,” Lange said. “She’s well respected amongst the staff, and the most important thing is she’s very student centered. She really goes above and beyond for students. She’s done that in her role with Health Services, so I knew she’d do that in her role as dean of students.”

In addition to bringing experience with students, McDermott said her history of working in a setting with intense situations is an asset to her current role.

“My background probably brings skill sets that are useful in this area,” McDermott said. “One of the things I think it brings is crisis management. There’s a lot of crisis in the health center – just a lot of managing moving parts. I think that skill set is very useful in this type of setting.”

Birdie Cunningham is currently filling McDermott’s role with Health Services and the Wellness Center. McDermott still stops by to make sure things are running smoothly.

The rest of her time is spent operating the office and coordinating between departments. Lange said she is confident McDermott is the right person to follow through on the Dean of Student’s mission.

“There’s a lot of sensitive issues dealing with students,” Lange said. “What I want to see her accomplish is first of all to be that sensitive, caring administrator that I know she is … to be able to work with the staff to keep things going during this time of transition and to be able to have an opportunity to get to know students.”

For now, McDermott does not plan to make any major changes, instead focusing on preset goals for the Dean of Students Office, such as implementing the strategic plan and ensuring communication between departments. She credits much of the office’s smooth operation to her co-workers.

“My role in this position is made a lot easier because Karen already has so many strong leaders in place,” McDermott said. “My role is just to help coordinate and help them continue to do their good work. I’m sure it will be a great interim experience for me.”

Simeon Lancaster can be reached at lanc4637@stthomas.edu.