We were troubled by the announcement last week that Marty Ford, the director of the Hiatt Career Center, will resign at the beginning of November after nearly two years. The center has made important improvements in recent years, but we're worried that the absence of someone at its helm, however temporary, will leave a large problem-that students are not receiving preprofessional support equal to that at other comparable universities-unattended.For many students, Hiatt is a luxury largely ignored until their final semesters, when premonitions and apprehensions about entering the real world loom largest. Hiatt counselors told the Justice last week that under Ford, the center strengthened programming for seniors stretching throughout the entire school year.

Such measures, as well as Hiatt's increased visibility on campus this semester, are in response to the results of a 2004 survey of alumni in the University's recently released self study for reaccredidation, in which graduates gave Brandeis a low grade for "identifying job opportunities for graduates." But their sentiment was not the result of insufficient programming, but of a far more obvious fact: There are not enough staff at Hiatt available for face-to-face counseling-and as the Justice reported last April, there is a high turnover rate among the few existing staffers .

The Justice also reported last April that Hiatt has a low ratio of students to counselors compared to career centers at other schools, "as a rule" in Ford's words-at the time, about one to 803. The hiring of a fifth counselor over the summer narrowed the gap to around one to 600. The University must hire more professionals-and in more specialties-to assist students in finding employment and internship opportunities.

But that's not the only work needed. According to the self study, 50 percent of alumni who responded to the survey disagreed with the statement, ".Brandeis did a good job of providing internships and other experimental learning opportunities." We find that lamentable: Out-of-the-classroom learning has more than just pedagogic value; students rely on such opportunities to make valuable contacts for seeking employment later. Hiatt must expand its assistance to students seeking internships.

We're worried, however, that the absence of a Hiatt director will frustrate such efforts, if only because there is now no one to do the hiring, or spearhead an expansion of the center's work. Ford was hired six months after his predecessor's resignation, but Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy has said a replacement will be found by the spring. We hope she's right. Ms. Eddy also told the Justice last April that staff turnover rates spike when a new director comes in; students can't afford more of that-especially when they can't find decent jobs.

Editor's note: Justice Editor Matt Wright is a Hiatt advisor, and recused himself from this editorial.