The two candidates for UTRGV associate vice president for Student Life and dean of students spoke about their plans for improving the student life-cycle during presentations held last week.
Rebecca Gadson and Jeffrey Ederer shared their visions in open forums and Q&A sessions April 10 through last Thursday on the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses.
Gadson and Ederer discussed the emerging issues Student Life units should prepare to address in the next two or three years to support student success.
Some of the issues they discussed were the changing student demographics, the cost of higher education and student conduct and well-being.
During their presentations, Gadson and Ederer mentioned the high number of first-generation college students in UTRGV, 61 percent, and what they could do to help them.
Ederer, who is a first-generation college student, said it is important to get them to “ask the right questions,” and help them realize “they belong here.”
Gadson said she would like to find ways to help their families as they are their main supporter in this “first time.”
Gadson, who has served as the interim associate vice president for Student Life and dean of students since August 2015, said she is familiar with the school.
“Opening the door as a new institution was a challenge in terms of making sure we are creating equitable experiences for students and that we’re making sure that we provide the proper scale to serve students to meet their needs, and meet students where they are at and build conveniences, so that it’s easier with students to continue college,” she said. “I feel like I have familiarity with who we are as an institution. I have familiarity with our student population; I have familiarity with the different kinds of business processes and the different kinds of behind-the-scenes-type challenges or opportunities that we are working through.”
Gadson also tackled the issue of cost of education.
“It’s important that we are good stewards of the finances that we have, that we are ensuring the kinds of programs, services, opportunities that we provide are aligned with what students identify as being in most need, or how we can best help students in attaining their personal goals academically and professionally, and that we are communicating and demonstrating learning and what people are gaining from those opportunities, that return on investment,” she said.
The forums were open to the campus community. Evaluation ballots were distributed to attendees.
Ederer, who worked as the dean of students in Johnson & Wales University in Denver and as a director in Partners in Learning at the University of Denver, said he wants students to graduate with more than what they came in with.
“A student comes to college, and what they are hoping [for] is that they’re going to get a great education here,” he said. “What I’m hoping for them, is that whatever they think they’re coming in here for, it could be more than that,” he said.
During her presentation, Gadson talked about the path to graduation and compared it to the Candy Land board game as it presents pitfalls in order to reach the goal.
“When I was thinking about the pathways that students experience once they’re at the university, it’s filled with a myriad of opportunities and they get to make a lot of choices and they come with different skills, talents, abilities,” Gadson said. “It’s not a straight path from enrollment to graduation.
“Students need opportunities to explore their environment, potentially even make some choices that they change along the way, maybe even make a mistake, here and there, but there are people along the pathway serving as guides and bumpers to help people get back on track.”
Similarly, Ederer talked about the difficulties for students with families.
“If you are 18, and you don’t have those responsibilities, the world is just a blue sky of opportunity,” he said. “… Someone who is maybe a couple of years older, they have kids and they have a full-time job. They want to make sure they’re not wasting their time, so I think we need to make sure that they are getting great value for their time here. That’s the focus with that type of student.”
Regarding the importance of student organizations, Ederer defined them as a way for students to get engaged.
“It helps students achieve their potential. … Along the way, they are gonna learn how to run a meeting. Along the way they are gonna learn how to develop a budget, even if it’s a little one,” he said. “They are gonna learn how to work with people and to find success, and that’s why there are student organizations.”
Christopher Albert, director of Counseling and Psychological Services, was among those who attended the to the candidates’ presentations.
“Each staff member who attends is able to get some input in terms of what they think, and maybe we learn a little bit about who may become the dean of students,” Albert said.
The deadline for Gadson’s evaluation was last Friday and Ederer’s should be submitted no later than Tuesday in Student Academic Center Building Room 3.107 in Edinburg and in Cortez Hall Room 213 in Brownsville.
