What are you responsible for as interim Dean of Students?

“There’s kind of two answers. One answer is more of a list of the units that reports to the Dean of Students Office, for example, Recreational Services, Greek and Multicultural Student Affairs. There’s 13 units that are part of the Dean of Students Office.”

“The other part is more global about policy development and interpretation and advocates for students, facilitating collaboration and interaction to think about benefiting students. It’s kind of a functional role as well as a more global role about advocating for students and student center processes.”

Why should students know about what you do?

“We hope that the Dean of Students Office is a place where students can feel connected. It’s really about helping everybody feel like they can do what they need to do without being intruded upon because of conduct issues. I think that’s something students should know about – we have expectations and hold people accountable so people can function. And hopefully it helps them to be successful to reach their goals.”

What decisions do you make that directly affect students?

“Making a decision is usually done in concert with what do students want or how does this relate to a function a student might care about. For example, if a student is trying to withdraw from the university, we want to help him or her through that process, but the decision if it’s a late drop or something might be within an academic college. But we can make decisions to make things more streamlined.”

What is a typical day for you?

“There isn’t a typical day. It’s going to vary between meeting with students or meeting with staff members to talk about supporting students..”

Beginning Today, open forums for the six Dean of Students candidates will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Memorial Union on the following dates:

Katherine Sermersheim, director of student development at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Ill.: Tuesday, Gallery Room

George McClellan, vice president for student development at Dickinson State University, Dickinson, N.D: Wednesday, Gallery Room

Zauyah Waite, director of student life at the University of Missouri-Kansas City: Friday, Pioneer Room

Robert Cabello, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at Broward Community College, Fort Lauderdale, Fla: Jan. 24, Gold Room

Sharon McGuire, interim dean of students: Jan. 25, Gallery Room

John Jones III, associate dean of students at Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis: Jan. 26, Pioneer Room