Dana Wavle, vice chancellor of Administrative Affairs, is new to IU Southeast. He brought his financial and corporate experience to IU Southeast after the former vice chancellor, Steve Taksar, accepted a position at Plymouth State University.
Wavle was the executive director of the non-profit Auxiliary Services Corporation at State University of New York Cortland when he saw the advertisement for his current position in August 2008.
“I had been out looking for opportunities,” he said. “When I read the ad, it immediately looked like a good fit.”
Chancellor Sandra Patterson-Randles shared Wavle’s opinion that IU Southeast would be a good place for him to work.
“When we interviewed him there was absolutely no doubt in my mind,” she said. “He clearly stood out and I am delighted he is on our team.”
Wavle is still formulating long-term goals for the campus, but said his short-term goals were in close correlation.
“For me, it’s taking good care of the physical, financial and human resources of the campus,” he said.
Providing high-quality services and managing the difficult balance of resources and services are also two short-term goals he plans to meet.
“I think we are in an environment of limited resources because of the economy and state budget situation,” he said. “I’m trying to maximize services in that environment.”
He also pledged to be a strong advocate and representative for IU Southeast in Bloomington and Indianapolis and to continue the long tradition of excellent financial stewardship.
Wavle’s wife and three sons still live in New York and will be moving to the area after the school year ends in June or July.
He said the separation is difficult, but credits the strong relationship he has with his family and their understanding of the importance of his position as reasons why they were willing to make the sacrifice.
Wavle and his wife, Sharon, met in high school and have been married 23 years.
“We have a very strong marriage bond,” he said. “If it wasn’t strong, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing, living away from home.”
Sharon Wavle, computer science professor at Tompkins Cortland Community College, has been teaching for more than 20 years.
Both he and his wife are avid musicians. His wife was an all-state clarinet player in high school and he played the drums in jazz, concert and marching bands.
His sons, Nate, 17, Dan, 15 and Josh, 7, are also passionate musicians.
Nate plays the drums and has been selected for the New York State School Music Association All-State for the past two years and will study biology in the fall with the intent of going into pre-medical studies at IU Bloomington.
Dan also plays the drums and was selected for the New York State Band Directors Association Honor Band this year. He also plans to audition for the Indiana All-State band after the family moves in the summer.
His youngest son, Josh, is also an aspiring musician and wants to learn to play the guitar. Currently, he practices his percussion skills on Xbox 360’s “Rock Band.”
Wavle was born in Cortland, N.Y., and, at 16, decided he would do whatever it took to get a job and start preparing for college.
He found employment at a local drugstore near his childhood home after repeatedly applying until they gave him a job.
“I applied for a job every week until they gave me one,” he said. “I wanted to work so bad that I applied until they said, ‘We’re going to hire you so you’ll leave us alone.’”
While working at the drugstore he discovered a passion for customer service, which is the same passion he brought to IU Southeast.
He worked at the drugstore until he graduated from the State University of New York Geneseo in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
In 1993, he went back to school part-time and received his M.B.A. from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1998.
After working as the branch manager of a bank and a financial analyst for a retail drug chain, he began working at the SUNY Cortland auxiliary services corporation as a controller, handling student services for the campus community in 1996.
He worked for the ASC at SUNY Cortland for 13 years and was responsible for the campus store and dining services.
Erik Bitterbaum, president of SUNY Cortland, said Wavle was very student-oriented and always took the perspective of how the ASC could best serve their student community.
“He was a consummate professional,” he said. “I think the highest of Dana.
“He did a magnificent job and people appreciated how good he was.”
In 2002, he became the executive director and faced the task of reforming an organization that was operating at a less than desired level.
Communication between management and the union broke down and the low morale of the employees was part of the explanation for their disarray, he said.
“My management style is very people oriented,” he said. “We worked with the union, we renegotiated wages, we took very good care of the employees and we incorporated something called core values.”
Excellent service, exceptional value and recognizing employees as the greatest resources are three core values he said he implemented which improved morale and gave the employees a sense of belonging within the company.
“He was so collegial, friendly and open-minded,” Patterson-Randles said. “In addition, he holds high standards and has strong core values.”
When he resigned from the ASC in December 2008, some employees feared that the company would gradually begin to decline since the person responsible for the improved performance and morale was leaving.
The decline did not happen and the management style and core values are still a fundamental aspect of operations at the ASC.
“All I did was communicate the core values,” he said. “The core values are still there, all I did was hold the banner.
“Over time the employees have realized that.”
Wavle’s long experience with customer service began when he was 16 years old and was molded by the various people-oriented positions he has held since, are what he will use as the foundation of his service at IU Southeast.
“I’m here to serve, and my primary goal is to help students achieve their educational goals, to learn, grow and prepare for new opportunities,” he said.
“I want students to have the same educational and professional opportunities I’ve had over the last 30 years.”
By TRAVIS STURGILL
Staff Writer
trsturgi@ius.edu
