OSLE Director Tim Johnson resigns
On Dec. 2, Guilford Dean of Students Steve Mencarini sent an email to Guilford’s student body announcing the resignation of the Director of the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement (OSLE) Tim Johnson following “three years of dedicated service.”
The resignation occurred over Thanksgiving break, leading Mencarini to make a promise to continue the operations of OSLE and planning of programs and events in the coming months, by working with Assistant Director of OSLE Jalen Baker and Graduate Assistant in OSLE Lateesha Watkins.
Akeba Calvin, a second year OSLE intern, found that everyone was “frazzled” given the sudden news.
“People who come in here on a regular basis can see that something is different, because of his role and personality,” said Calvin. “People who got here at the same time as Tim are more affected. It’s either going to stay like this, really confusing, or we’re just going to get better as a tribute to him.”
Phillip Williams, a senior Campus Activities Board officer, commented on the departure.
“Everyone realized that he outgrew this school, and he realized he outgrew this school, because of the things he’s done for the student body,” Williams said. “I think he deserves many accolades for that. I think that the new Edge program put a lot of pressure on him to do things very quickly. I would move on if I was in that situation.”
Williams noted that little has changed in OSLE recently because Johnson hadn’t been there since fall break.
“Tim was part of the process, but Jaylen and Lateesha were the ones picking people for these groups, and these students can operate independently,” said Williams. “I think (Tim) was very intentional on who he picked to be part of these organizations.”
In an email sent to the student body, Mencarini concluded, “We are confident that the good work of OSLE will continue during this interim period.”
However, Williams remarked that a period of adjustment was ahead.
“I think we’ll start to feel it more next semester, especially because he transformed the OSLE office into a place where we could sit and hang out, and he’s done so much for the campus,” Williams said.
Nevertheless, he emphasized the importance of continuing the work of the OSLE.
“We’re here now, we’ve got to continue to create events for students, we’ve got to make sure that they operate the way that they’re supposed to,” Williams said. “We just have to keep going, like Tim did. We have to keep continuing to operate in his legacy.”
