Multicultural Center welcomes new assistant director to role

Claudia Timmann, the new assistant director for International Student Services, came across CSB+SJU much in the same way as many prospective students.

Thanks to her daughter, a junior in high school, Timmann received an email invitation to attend Minnesota Private Colleges Week. When they visited CSB+SJU as the first stop of the week, Timman felt immediately drawn to the community.

“When we came to this campus, I was like ‘wow, this is so amazing,’” Timmann said. “People were really nice, really kind, really helpful and the campus just had a different vibe. I thought to myself ‘Hmm, what if I worked here?’”

During the rest of Private Colleges Week, Timmann got a glimpse of the international student experience at other universities in the state and began to wonder how she could bring that back to CSB+SJU to make college a truly unforgettable experience for these students.

With that, she decided to apply. The search for the job opened in May with the application going up in June and the finalists being selected in August.

Initially, she wondered whether she would qualify for the position.

“Then I thought, I have my undergraduate degrees, my undergraduate experience, working at Walt Disney World in the college program, traveling abroad, and being a mentor in undergrad. I thought maybe all those experiences bottled into one would help me to be qualified,” she said.

Timmann has a long history of work experience with universities. She began at the University of Arizona as a research and technology librarian, working in a team to teach research skills to first-year students and faculty.

From there, Timmann proceeded to Mohave Community College, working at the Lake Havasu City Campus as a campus librarian, a role which put her in charge of the entire library there. A year later, she became dean of libraries for the entire college, which put her in charge of four libraries.

Timmann eventually moved to Capella University in Minneapolis to work as their library director.

After a few years away from higher education working with a Scandinavian health and wellness company, Timmann has found herself back in the college scene. Above all, she is approaching the job with a sense of fun and excitement.

“The way I look at this position is something that is not daunting, but fun; something where I can reach out to students, I can be open, I can be flexible and help them with whatever they need,” Timmann said.

Additionally, Timmann sees the job as one where she will never get bored, and her responsibilities as assistant director will guarantee this is not the case. Working with international students requires extensive knowledge and drive. Timmann must coordinate and be familiar with several campus departments as well as the logistics of being an international student, including obtaining visas, phone numbers, bank accounts, social security numbers and adhering to federal regulations.

Malik Stewart, director of the Multicultural Center, was impressed by Timmann’s extensive higher education leadership experience.

“This position really requires that because she has to work with so many different folks and know all of their processes. She is going to need to be able to collaborate, and her experience is a standout,” Stewart said. “Most people don’t know how difficult immigration is.”

In these first few weeks of school, Timmann will be busy taking care of these necessary tasks for international students. Once the dust settles a bit, she is looking forward to planning more fun activities for students around and outside campus.

“I just want them to have the best experience they can have,” Timmann said. “College life is so much fun, so we want to keep it fun but also make sure they are making good grades, going to bed at night, and having the full university experience. I look forward to contributing to that.”