Although Richard DeCapua used to dream of being on ESPN, he seems satisfied with where he ended up instead. As a student at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., DeCapua, the University's newly hired director of residence life, became interested in pursuing a career in student life. So he decided to switch his majors to Communications and Psychology and obtained a Masters in Student Personnel Administration at Springfield College.

"Everything just kind of fell into place," Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer said of hiring DeCapua, who started the first week of July.

He served as the assistant director of residential life at Wesleyan University prior to coming to Brandeis.

DeCapua said he's excited about working on a campus that values collaboration between faculty, staff and students who are "active and willing to be part of a solution based agenda."

"That was the big pull for me," he said.

DeCapua replaces Assistant Dean of Student Life Maggie Balch, who was promoted to her current position last fall after serving in as director of Residence Life for almost four years.

The search process was made less stressful with Balch still at Brandeis, Sawyer said. "It afforded us the ability to do a thoughtful search and to have the search scheduled run into the normal season . for doing searches for directors, especially directors of high-stress areas like residence life," he said.

Sawyer said though Balch officially had a new post, she was essentially still doing both jobs until July, a "trying" situation for one person to manage.

"She was really ready to get someone on board," Sawyer said. "And it isn't one of those things where you just turn over the keys and say, 'God, I'm glad you're here.'" Sawyer said Balch is working closely with DeCapua to make the transition a smooth one.

Sawyer added: "I think it was just a good connection and a good combination for him and for us. He's known in New England. We're known in New England so he wasn't really a big mystery to us once he became a candidate," Sawyer said.

It's a mistake to start a new job and immediately try to make changes in CA training or the way housing is done, DeCapua said, so he's ready to do a lot of learning and getting to know the campus first.

Going through a full year is critical to understanding a campus, Sawyer said.

"He's watching, he's perceptive, he has good suggestions, he's a quick learner, so the things that are fairly standard in the business he's right on top of," Sawyer said. "The things that are very 'Brandeis' he's watching quite closely and learning."

Along with DeCapua, four new quad directors joined the Department of Residence Life this semester, including Bill Huff in North Quad, Andrew Roberts at the Charles River Apartments, Jerome Holland at Ziv Quad and Ridgewood Cottages and Colleen Johnston in the Castle.

"It's really shaping up very nicely," said Sawyer, who said he was initially concerned when the University lost four quad directors last year.

"I think we're right back on it," he said.