In the four months and 18 days that Rachelle Woodbury has been East Lansing's community-student liaison, the MSU employee has met with dozens of people and has begun developing a new Web site — but that's about it.
Woodbury's position was created by MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon to serve as a bridge between the city's students and permanent residents. She was hired to actively strengthen relationships within the community. She earns at least $37,838 a year.
City and university officials said they are satisfied with what Woodbury has accomplished in her first months, especially since her interactions with residents have helped her develop a knowledge of the issues going on in East Lansing.
But 10 students polled by The State News didn't know who Woodbury was.
"I wouldn't say her position is necessary if we don't know what's going on," nursing senior Rachel Kozma said.
In her meetings with various students and community members, Woodbury acknowledged she has increased communication but said she doesn't have a lot of one-on-one meetings regarding personal issues with residents.
"The closest thing to one-on-one is e-mailing," Woodbury said. "A few students and residents have started e-mailing me on a regular basis — that's probably a lot of the one-on-one."
Most of Woodbury's time recently has been spent developing a new Web site for students moving off campus — offcampusliving.msu.edu — which is expected to launch in early April.
Woodbury said her site will offer students one place to find information, rather than forcing them to go to several different sites.
Ginny Haas, MSU's director of community relations, was responsible for Woodbury's job before she arrived and continues to work with the city and MSU on joint issues.
The difference, Haas said, is that Woodbury's position allows for one person to focus on student and community issues, whereas Haas' job deals with every interaction between the city and university, such as joint financial and land use issues.
"The intention behind it was just to focus on the student-community interaction," Haas said. "We wanted someone who could put more attention to that."
Even in meeting with several student government representatives, Woodbury's presence has been felt, but her actions are vague, some student group members said.
"A lot of her time has been to familiarize herself with groups," said Mark Dobson, president of the Residence Halls Association. "The creation of that position shows a commitment to community and university relations."
Dobson did not provide specific examples of Woodbury's progress thus far.
Some students said if Woodbury is meeting with community members, they aren't noticing.
"It's kind of sad that we don't know who she is," kinesiology sophomore Emily Reynolds said. "But maybe I've seen her around or things have been talked about and I just wasn't paying attention."
