Associate Dean of Students Mark Zeno announced this week he will be leaving the Baker University family to start one of his own.
Zeno, who’s been at Baker since June 2005, said he decided to resign in October when he found out his wife, Valerie, is pregnant.
Zeno said he decided to rejoin his wife, who stayed in Ohio to work at Ashland University.
“It was a tough decision to make,” he said. “Because we’re a dual-career couple, we had to make some kind of decision to help our family.”
Zeno said he will miss Baker after his last day, Dec. 18.
“I’m definitely going to be super sad to leave,” he said. “It’s been great getting to know the students and getting involved here on campus.”
After a year and a half on campus, Zeno said he has enjoyed the tight community that he was part of.
“That was the great part of coming here, but that’s also going to be the hardest part about leaving,” he said.
John Frazier, associate vice president for student development, said he is uncertain about what will be done to replace Zeno.
“With everything that has been going on, we haven’t had time to strategize completely,” he said. “There may be some lapse. I would not expect that we have some interim person.”
Frazier said he will work with University President Pat Long to either begin a search process or look for a replacement from within the university.
Zeno said he wanted to inform his hall staff before the rest of the campus found out. Will Weyhrauch, hall director for Jolliffe Hall, said he it will take an effort to overcome his absence.
“I was very surprised,” Weyhrauch said. “I was really glad for him. It’s a good time for him, but it will be a hard transition for the hall staff because he is our direct supervisor.”