The beginning of the 2025-26 academic year at St. Olaf has brought some fresh faces with it, filling significant roles within the College. Dr. Tarshia Stanley was hired as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Jeffrey Favreau as the new Director of Public Safety, and Emilie Burgduff as a new Student Activities Coordinator.
Stanley was previously the Special Assistant to the President for Academic Affairs at Wagner College, N.Y., providing her with the necessary experience to step into her role at St. Olaf. Her main responsibilities involve the College’s academics, such as ensuring that the curriculum is state- and nationally-accredited and that any faculty who are hired have proper credentials.
“[I’m] making sure that students are getting the curriculum that we say we deliver,” Stanley said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger.
Favreau previously served as the Director of Public Safety and Emergency Operations at St. Michael’s College, Vt., a similarly-sized college to St. Olaf. In his role, Favreau manages overall operations and budget of the department, as well as maintaining clear and timely communication between Public Safety and the campus community.
“I have felt that I have been able to come into my position at St. Olaf and hit the ground running,” Favreau said in an email interview with The Olaf Messenger. “Many of the department and college procedures utilized at St. Olaf are very similar to those I was used to using back in Vermont, so outside of getting to know new people in familiar positions, it has really been plug and play.”
Burgduff has a master’s in counseling psychology and has worked in higher education before, but she took a nine-year hiatus to be a stay-at-home mother. Now, since her children are older, she wanted to get back to working with college students.
“When you’re in college, it’s one of the most transformative times of life that you’ll ever have,” Burgduff said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “I think it’s such a gift to be here and witness that in others because I know how that felt for me.”
Each of these positions impact student life in some capacity. Stanley works in concert with faculty when they consider adding new courses, majors, or concentrations, and she reviews St. Olaf’s OLE Core curriculum. She also works to ensure that students have equal access to College resources such as scholarships. Favreau handles parking enforcement, manages Public Safety’s dispatch to respond to emergencies on campus, and supports community engagement. Burgduff’s role is not necessarily new, but has been carved out of the existing responsibilities of the OSA staff due to the difficulties of managing over 200 student organizations. While her definitive tasks have not been defined, Burgduff assists in evaluating and streamlining different OSA processes, such as student organization finances and expenditure requests, alongside being available to answer students’ questions.
“Everyone in this office really wants to make connections with the students and be a place that students can come to… where you feel heard and respected,” Burgduff said.
None of the three new staff members anticipate any significant changes to students’ day-to-day as a result of their hiring. Rather, they bring a new perspective to their respective departments to evaluate current policies and procedures and consider how they can improve them.
“I always carry with me the understanding of a liberal arts education as one of the most powerful ways to educate the student,” Stanley said. “You get an education that teaches you to be both analytical and creative. You get the best of both worlds in that way.”
