Many new students are probably a tad anxious with just a few short weeks left before they begin their first year at the University of Idaho. That’s understandable. I know I was nervous before I started my life as a young Vandal.
This year’s freshman class isn’t the only group of new faces being introduced to UI culture though.
UI President Chuck Staben just finished his first full year at the university, and after him came a string of new of members of administration.
For example, the new Dean of Students Blaine Eckles just started working here last week and UI’s new Vice President for Advancement Mary Kay McFadden starts a week after the fall semester begins. Other members of the UI administration need to be chosen in the coming years as well.
Erin Bamer
What does this mean for new students and administration? It means they have a chance to start fresh with another group of people who are just as new to the campus culture as they are.
Staben is still developing his new administrative team, and at this point it’s unclear whether or not this new group of people will work efficiently together or not. Only time will tell, but right about now some of these new members of the Idaho team are probably feeling some pressure to make a good first impression.
Eckles has made it known that he is looking forward to getting to know UI students. New students should especially take advantage of this opportunity, because they’re in the same situation.
The dean of students is an important figure at the university and can make a difference in the student experience. The new class of students will be at UI with Eckles as their dean longer than most of the other students enrolled here. If they take the chance to get to know him now, Eckles will have a better idea of what he can do to impact their college experience in a more positive way.
As for the other, older UI students, it’s time for us to put on our most helpful faces for both new faculty and new students. It’s become too easy for people to willfully ignore new additions to their communities. “They can figure their own lives out,” people figure.
That’s not how the UI community operates though. A large part of the foundation of UI is its people and how much they care about others. The ones who are familiar with the community are the ones who should put in the effort to make new faculty and students feel welcomed and comfortable being here.
In an ideal world, this year’s administration will be made up of perfect new additions who will never make mistakes and be flawless leaders everyday they’re here. That may be the case, but it probably won’t be. It’s important to remember that this team of faculty is still learning about UI culture — we need to give them some time to adapt, and the results will speak for themselves in the future.
The same goes for new students. It will be scary for many of them at the beginning of their first year as Vandals. Each of them will make mistakes, but that’s OK. As long as the rest of us are willing to help them when they need us, they’ll get the hang of things and begin to thrive soon enough.
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer