Dean position reinstated

Students should have an easy time finding the Office of Dean of Students, Mark Nelson said.

The office is located in the Ferguson Center, and if students need to call the office, Nelson, interim vice president for student affairs, said he hopes they will remember the phone number: 348-DEAN.

In July, Nelson reinstated the position of dean of students one year after then-Vice President of Student Affairs Margaret King closed the office. Nelson appointed Tim Hebson to the position, who was previously the director of Student Judicial Affairs.

After settling into the new office in the Ferg, Hebson said he is excited about his new role as dean of students. Student organizations, graduate student services, Student Judicial Affairs, the Women's Resource Center and greek affairs are some of the departments that have been consolidated under the Office of Dean of Students.

Before Hebson and his staff start several new initiatives, he said he wants to fine tune what the departments are already doing.

Keeping the dean of students office open until 8 p.m. is one change for the office Hebson said he would like to see. Students do not keep 9-to-5 hours, Hebson said, so staying open later Monday through Thursday would offer more chances for students to come to the office.

"We understand that many seek out the dean of students office first because they know that is a place where they can find information," Hebson said.

Their main focus is to make sure that they are doing the best possible job to help students, Hebson said.

Nelson said he reinstated the dean of students position as part of a reorganization of the Student Affairs division.

The change focuses on grouping the departments under Student Affairs together so that each department can work with the other offices more easily and provide support to students and the campus, Nelson said.

"It's my belief that the way things were organized before really focused on the individual unit and the focus on reporting to the vice president," Nelson said. "This new structure allows for more collaboration."

Because the Office of the Dean of Students is located in the Ferg, Elle Shaaban-Magana, director of the Women's Resource Center, said the WRC will have a satellite office in the Ferg in addition to their main office in Russell Hall.

Having another office and being under the Office of the Dean of Students makes sense for the WRC, Shaaban-Magana said. They have already been working in the same areas as other departments such as Crimson Care and greek affairs, so she said this will help with collaboration.

Shaaban-Magana also said being in the Ferg will increase their visibility for WRC events.

"Our staff is open to this and we want to better reach the students that we serve," Shaaban-Magana said. "It's something that will be beneficial all the way around."

They will also have more opportunities to reach students, she said, which is Nelson's goal.

"The mantra for Student Affairs for a long time has been, 'Every student served,'" Nelson said. "[The Dean of Students office] will provide the resources to make sure that every student is served at the University."