Colgate University students can be quick to recall the blur of orientation week. Yet, when doing so, the thrill of making new friends and trying new things in a novel place with fresh opportunities comes to mind first. The many informative meetings that students attend are easily forgotten in the crowded first week on campus.
However, in these meetings, Colgate students met with their administrative deans — a vital team of people that heavily influence the behind-the-scenes of Colgate through shaping student experiences. Associate Dean for Administrative Advising Sarah Jones and Assistant Dean for Administrative Advising Doug Chiarello both work in the Office of Administrative Advising next door to each other in 118 McGregory Hall. For them, being administrative deans means fulfilling a role of guidance.
“Administrative deans are here to support our students throughout their years at Colgate and to assist them through challenging personal and academic situations,” Chiarello explained. “We are here to help navigate through the official policies and procedures in our Student Handbook and to cultivate strong individual relationships so that our students know they always have someone they can turn to for help, guidance, support and mentorship.”
For Jones, her tie to being an administrative dean at Colgate goes far beyond the actual job itself.
“I actually grew up an hour from Colgate, so when I was a high school student I actually came to Colgate seminars. Have you ever seen the high school students eating dinner in the dining hall on Wednesday nights?” she asked. “This is a program that has been going on for 40 or 50 years. And my friends and I came down on the bus every Wednesday night and were just enamored with eating in the dining hall and taking these mini courses with faculty professors […] it was really eye opening to be surrounded by people that cared so much about learning.”
Including her personal tie to Colgate, Jones echoed Chiarello’s notion of the job of an administrative dean.
“Administrative deans are really here to help support students during their time here. So that could be anything from little things to big things,” Jones explained. “Colgate can be a challenging place to navigate sometimes, and students may not know where to turn when they need help, so we can often best help them with whatever is going on.”
Administrative deans can significantly impact a student’s experience on campus by helping them navigate the often complex nature of college. For Chiarello, the key to helping students navigate college life is through forming personal relationships with them.
“We take great pride in the strong personal relationships that we are able to cultivate with the students that we work with and to foster a sense of comfort and trust so that they always know there is someone they can turn to for advice or guidance,” Chiarello explained. “I tell my students that I truly want to be a part of their Colgate experience and it is completely up to them as to how small or how large of a role I play, as long as they know that I’ll always be here for them when support is needed.”
Jones reiterated Chiarello’s sentiment and hopes to help students navigate the difficulties of college simply by being someone that students can turn to.
“I like to think we try to make things easier when things are stressful. There’s no doubt that life happens while you’re still in college, so it can be hard to figure out how to navigate that, especially when there’s a lot going on,” Jones said. “I think the other thing, and this is for first-year students, is when you first come here, you don’t have a group of friends — so it’s hard to find people to just rant to. If you’re having a bad day, it’s good to talk that out with someone. So sometimes it’s just to be a listening ear when something frustrating happens.”
And students that turn to their administrative deans always feel this support. Sophomore Sienna Staver was assigned Chiarello as her administrative dean, often looking to him when she needs the tools to navigate an issue.
“[Chiarello] is a fantastic dean who goes above and beyond for all of his students, and gets to know everyone in a way that he doesn’t have to do,” Staver shared. “It helps to support all of us and our times at Colgate. Anytime I have any sort of problem, he will help me work through it. Even if he can’t work it out, he will help me find sources to navigate my problem”
A person to turn to when navigating the difficulties of college is exactly what is sometimes needed for Colgate students. Administrative deans, such as Jones and Chiarello, fulfill this role for students at Colgate.
