The search committee consists of Hampshire and Smith’s Deans of Students, the Mt. Holyoke Director of Residential Life, a faculty member, three students and the South Hadley Chief of Police. According to the Mt. Holyoke Vice President for Finance and Administration, Mary Jo Maydew, the search committee is charged with identifying a director “who has solid experience and familiarity with higher education and community policing — someone who’s got a solid reputation and history of success.”
While members of the Public Safety Department were not included in the search committee, they will be consulted in the final decision through interviews with the final candidates.
Ominsky, who began his career at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, has headed the Public Safety Department at Mt. Holyoke since 1992, added Smith to his résumé in Dec. 2003 and finally, Hampshire during the consolidation last year. According to him, the consolidation was not a difficult process due to the gifted staff in all three colleges.
“All three colleges have an incredibly talented staff in Public Safety, so the collaboration was made possible by the hard work of many people,” he said. “It was my responsibility to provide the leadership and vision for the collaborative department.”
Maydew expressed her gratitude towards Ominsky for his time in the Pioneer Valley.
“Paul has provided important leadership as Smith, Hampshire and Mount Holyoke have worked together to collaborate on Public Safety services,” she said. “I am grateful for his contributions to all three campuses and wish him well as he moves on to Princeton.”
While the search committee scans the nation for a replacement, Associate Director of Public Safety Barbara Arrighi assumed the role of Interim Director in January, a role she believes she is well qualified for after many years of working with Ominsky.
“I’ve been doing a lot of it already,” she said. “I’ve worked with him for many years, so I know a lot of what he does. We work very close together.”