President and His Secretary to Switch Jobs

The morning of Friday, May 21, if you happen to walk by Moore Library’s presidential suite on Rider’s Lawrenceville campus, you’ll witness an unprecedented occurrence at Rider.
     Pat Witkowski, executive assistant to President Mordechai Rozanski, will more than likely be sitting in Dr. Rozanski’s chair as she meets with Dr. Phyllis Frakt, vice president for academic affairs and provost, and Dean of Students Tony Campbell to discuss their concerns.  In the meantime, you will see Dr. Rozanski in the connecting office handling a stream of calls, typing letters and performing a variety of other duties.
     No, you’re not dreaming.  This is a half-day job switch that Dr. Rozanski introduced during his days at the University of Guelph, and a new tradition for Rider, according to Julie Karns, vice president of finance and treasurer. Karns emceed the annual Office Support Staff Breakfast, held last month in the Bart Luedeke Center.  The breakfast included drawings for a number of donated prizes, and Karns said Dr. Rozanski thought the job switch would be a fun addition to the prize offerings.
     In one of his previous job switches at the University of Guelph, Dr. Rozanski switched jobs with a student at Guelph (Ontario Veterinary College) as a prize for a United Way lottery.  He recalled it as a “humorous” yet “enlightening” experience.
     “Attendees got a real kick out of the fact that Mort actually drew Pat’s name himself,” said Karns. “This twist makes the job switch that much sweeter, since I’m sure that many staff members would love to have their bosses experience a day in their own shoes -- or at their desks as the case may be.”
     Witkowski was “shocked” to say the least. “I could not believe it,” she said. “For  Mort to pick me was quite a surprise. This will be a lot of fun.”
       Dr. Rozanski concurs. “In appreciation of the important work done by all our support staff, I thought it would be great to exchange jobs,” said Dr. Rozanski. “ This would give me a chance to experience the daily responsibilities of our valuable support staff.  I am delighted that Pat and I will be switching roles on Friday. I sense that there is performance anxiety on both sides,” he said smiling.     

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