Dean of students candidate focuses on minority students, community
As a former student leader, student athlete and fraternity member, Ryan Greene knows firsthand the value of being involved on campus.
Ryan Greene
Greene is the second candidate to visit the University of Idaho campus with the hopes of becoming the new dean of students. He spoke to a crowd Wednesday and talked about the modern role a dean of students should play in a residential campus community.
Greene is currently the director of the International Student Center at Seattle University. He described himself as a generalist, referring to his breadth of experience in student affairs.
He took the audience through seven tactics and aspects of how he would support UI and its students if selected for the dean of students position.
The first tactic he would employ is to create a community of “inclusive excellence” with a student focus, he said.
His goal would be to encourage students to strive for diversity — socially, statistically and racially — and make them feel important.
“I think we owe that to these students,” he said.
Greene said he would focus on minority students, veterans and other nontraditional students to ensure an inclusive campus environment.
“As a predominately white campus, it has to be at the forefront of our work,” he said.
When it comes to disciplinary action, Greene said frequent review of the UI Student Code of Conduct is key. Greene referenced a disciplinary scenario at SeattleU when a student was allowed to keep his leadership position after judicial action. He said it turned out well for the student and the university.
“Sometimes, when our students are in crisis, pulling them in closer is a better approach than pushing them away,” Greene said.
For Greene, a university’s welcoming environment should start at the beginning. He said as dean of students, he would provide oversight for orientation programs.
“For me, this is a sort of all-hands-on-deck approach,” he said. “How does the entire university engage in welcoming students?”
Orientation doesn’t stop at the students, he said. With a substantial population of first-generation students Greene said it is important to support parents as well.
Greene said his parents did not receive a traditional university education, and as a result he knew little about the college experience when he enrolled.
“I didn’t really know much about the campus when I got there, but because I played lacrosse, I was immediately connected to a social group,” he said.
Greene said there are many positives to finding a social group immediately, but there are also some negatives, such as relationships with upperclassmen resulting in easier access to drugs and alcohol.
Greene said a dean of students has a duty to get to know each Greek house — especially those on probation — to provide training and to share values with is critical. He said the only way to ensure safety is to collaborate with house leadership.
“Whatever is happening in the Greek community, we just want to make sure they’re keeping it safe,” Greene said.
Greene said engaging with the non-Greek residential community and being involved with various leadership teams is also important.
“I think having that unified first-year experience is a great thing in residence halls,” Greene said.
Greene said he would also work to develop comprehensive leadership and diversity education programs.
For example, Greene said he recently held workshops on white privilege at SeattleU.
In order to accomplish this goal, he said well-rounded retreats could be utilized.
Katelyn Hilsenbeck can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Katelyn_mh