Brian Devost took over as executive director of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center last week — one of the newest and most high-profile jobs on the Abilene Christian University campus, given the center’s expected prominence on campus, physically and recreationally.
So far, so good.
“It’s everything I thought it would be and more,” Devost said, talking in the sparse confines of his temporary office in the Hunter Welcome Center. “We’re like nomads, going around to different offices, trying to find places to meet.”
Devost toured the center when he came to campus for an interview, but a couple of months had passed, so one of his first things to do was take another look at the 116,000-square-foot facility he will oversee.
“My first impression was the students are going to just be wowed when they see the finished product,” he said. “It’s going to be state-of-the-art everything. It’ll be amazing. It’s exciting to be a part of this.”
Of course, the three months or so between now and the facility’s grand opening will require more work than simply the occasional tour. Devost said he has plenty to do.
“There’s a lot of little things,” he said. “We ned to be contacting a lot of people, making sure we’re connecting the dots. … Typically, the most difficult (thing) is the staffing, but Joel [Swedlund] and [Dr.] Kerri [Hart] have already done that. The training, developing a culture, so to speak, of what we’re expecting service-wise, how the students will interact with each other.”
Training of the five dozen students who will work in the center begins Aug. 15, two weeks before the start of classes.
“That’s a whole schedule unto itself,” he said, “but it doesn’t just stop there. The thing will be amazing.”
In the meantime, Devost will be working with Hart, director of programming, Swedlund, director of facility operations, and other voices on campus to determine everything from the type of furniture to place on the outdoor patio to what kind of policies and procedures will govern the students, faculty and staff working out in the building.
On a broader scale, Devost sees his job as developing a better sense of the whole-wellness philosophy ACU wants to encourage through the Money Center.
And it all needs to happen in 85 days or so.