Aaron Fetrow and Jon Varnell Promoted to Positions as Vice Presidents

Senior administrators Aaron Fetrow and Jon Varnell have been promoted to vice president, President Kent Chabotar announced Oct. 9. The appointments are effective immediately.

Fetrow will be vice president for student affairs and dean of students and Varnell will be vice president for administration, leading two new divisions in a reorganization of Guilford's senior administration. Currently, the college has four divisions that are led by the vice president and academic dean, and the vice presidents of enrollment services, finance (Jerry Boothby), and advancement. Because campus ministries, human resources, and IT&S also report to him, the president leads a fifth division. "My theory of reorganization," commented President Chabotar, "has been to flatten the hierarchy by having fewer layers of administration, create more natural groupings of functions and responsibilities and recognize the talents of the persons involved."

Fetrow was named dean of students, reporting to the president, in January 2008 as part of a reorganization of the enrollment and campus life areas. He was dean for campus life for nearly three years after serving as associate dean for residence life for seven months after joining the college in October 2004. In the past five years, Fetrow has managed all aspects of campus life including residence life for 1,100 students living on campus, student health and counseling, student leadership and development, student judicial affairs, first year experience, new student programs and public safety.

"From setting high standards of conduct and service to being the administration's main link with students outside the classroom, Aaron has been a major contributor to campus life at Guilford College," said President Chabotar. "His open style, communications skills, and administrative ability have been essential as the College managed crises and improved student programs."

Fetrow earned his doctorate from the College of Law at Tennessee in 2003, a master of arts in history from Truman State in 1997 and a bachelor's degree in history from Manchester College (Ind.) in 1994. He served in a variety of residence life and student affairs positions at Truman State University (Mo.) from 1995-98 and the University of Tennessee from 1999-2003. Fetrow joined Guilford as associate dean from a position as an attorney with the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based law firm Baker & Daniels.

Varnell joined Guilford as director of facilities and campus services in 2003. He was named associate vice president of operations and facilities in June 2006, reporting to Jerry Boothby, vice president for finance and administration. More recently, as he set a new finance-only focus for the chief financial officer, President Chabotar transferred the administrative functions of dining services and then the bookstore to Varnell and had him report directly to the president. Public safety had previously been switched to Fetrow.

In the past six years, Varnell has managed building services, landscaping and grounds, environmental health and safety, conferences and events, dining services and the bookstore. He has been instrumental in planning and completing approximately $26 million in campus improvement projects, creating and executing a campus master plan, securing a new dining services provider and developing initiatives to support the college's commitment to sustainability.

"Each time I receive a compliment on how much better our buildings and grounds look since 2002, I share it with Jon Varnell," commented President Chabotar. "While the trustees and president set policy, we follow the recommendations of Jon and his team and know that he will manage the projects with great attention to functionality, style, and budget. You can see the ample evidence whenever you enter a building, cross the Quad, play a sport, or park a car."

Varnell earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Taylor University in Ft. Wayne, Ind., in 1994. He worked for four years as a facilities manager at Taylor's Fort Wayne and Upland, Ind., campuses and was director of facilities and event management at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind., from 1998-03. He has also performed support work for two management companies in between jobs with these higher education institutions.

Oct. 9, 2009