The search for a new Director of Sexual Assault and Prevention Services is narrowing, with the top three candidates visiting campus for open interviews this week and next. The university is seeking a replacement for Sheila McMahon, who left this position in mid-July for a faculty position at a school of social work.

The search committee working to fill McMahon’s role conducted video interviews and has invited the three finalists to campus for sessions with students, faculty and staff, according to a Nov. 7 campus-wide email from Sheryl Sousa ’90, the vice president of Student Affairs.

“Each candidate will make a brief presentation about their assessment of the results of the Brandeis campus climate survey on sexual misconduct and how they plan to approach their work in this role given the data,” she said. The “majority of time,” however, will be left for audience questions. The university will also ask for attendees to give feedback after the sessions.

The first two visits were on Wednesday, Nov. 8 and Thursday, Nov. 9, and the final candidate will present on Tuesday, Nov. 14 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Multipurpose Room.

Brandeis is also seeking a new Survivor Advocate at the Rape Crisis Center (RCC), following the departure of Julia Rickey in August, just weeks after McMahon. The university aims to hire an OPS director and Survivor Advocate by next semester, though these search processes have been staggered to allow the new director to weigh in on the selection of a permanent Survivor Advocate.

Multiple interim staff are filling these positions at OPS and the RCC as the searches progress. There are two part-time Survivor Advocates who each work two days a week, in addition to RCC peer counselors.

Interim Project Managers are serving at the Office of Prevention Services, and OPS student workers have also taken on a lot of responsibility, according to Sousa and Paul Sindberg ’18, the Coordinator of Community Engagement at OPS.