A search committee composed of students and faculty is still looking for a new director for the Hiatt Career Center, after Marty Ford, who was the director since March 2004, resigned last November.The new director will begin work in fall 2007 and will replace the interim director, Barbara Fienman, Ph. D., who has been directing Hiatt since January. Over the past two weeks, the search committee has interviewed four candidates for the position.

Hiatt Associate Director Kate Kavanagh said that the center is looking for a leader in its new director.

The new director will need to "relate to lots of different groups and audiences and learn what it is they need to do in order to serve them," Kavanagh said.

Additionally, she said, the director should be a "good marketeer," who will "[present] Brandeis students to the marketplace of employers."

Kavanagh told the Justice in October that she hopes that the new director would be "a strong advocate within the administration to get the kind of technology support we need to make that next jump."

Jason Brodsky '07, the former student union director of academic affairs, said students are concerned about Hiatt. "One of the number one issues students have on campus is with the Hiatt Career Center, specifically the lack of internship opportunities," he said.

"We need a cohesive, clear system," Brodsky added.

Each incoming first-year class has an increased demand for internship opportunities, he said. Brodsky, who was also an undergraduate department representative for the Politics and African and Afro-American studies departments, said concerns about internship opportunities among prospective students are common.

"One of the most important things is to keep better track of where graduates go," he said, noting that many Brandeis students find internships without Hiatt's assistance.

Kavanagh said changes are ahead for the center. In September, Hiatt will meet with the undergraduate department representatives in order to create a connection between the career center and academic departments. Hiatt has also been working on improving its Web site, which should be updated with better features this fall.

Hiatt will also expand the role of the Hiatt ambassadors, Kavanagh said, in an effort to improve "outreach to employers to sponsor more internships."

Kavanagh said Hiatt is also looking for a new assistant director of alumni, and administrators are considering physically expanding their space or moving the office to a more visible location.