Administrators at UW-Milwaukee are soon going to choose a new Dean of Students, and the final decision between the last two candidates is going to be a close one. The two remaining applicants, Valerie Randall-Lee and Timothy W. Gordon, both have extensive student life backgrounds.
Randall-Lee is a current associate dean for student development at Northeastern University. She has many years of experience in positions regarding student life and student affairs, ideal credentials for the Dean of Students position.
She has two Master’s Degrees; one in Education in College Student Personnel, the other in Business Administration.
A degree in College Student Personnel entails the study of student development theories, student affairs administration and counseling and developing an understanding of higher education. Her experience in positions at other establishments are appropriate stepping stones towards reaching Dean of Students status. She has been an Associate Dean for Student Development, the Director of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, and most recently, the Associate Dean for Housing and Resident life.
Positions like Randall-Lee has held, along with being the former president of NEACUHO (Northeast Association of College of University and Housing Officers), have given Randall-Lee a vast range of experiences that involve communicating with students and taking care of their concerns.
Gordon is the other candidate for the new Dean of Students. He was raised in the greater Chicago area before moving to East Lansing to attend Michigan State University. He is currently the associate dean of student and alumni services at Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies.
Gordon, too, has much experience, and is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards and honors.
At Michigan State University he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Pre-Law and a Master’s Degree in Higher Adult and Lifelong Education/Student Affairs, as well as receiving a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Foundations from Illinois State University. These educational degrees allow Gordon to be a conscientious and culturally responsive leader, as well as helping him understand issues in organization and leadership and conflict resolution.
Gordon has experience in student affairs positions. Starting in 1995, he was the Resident Director/Co-ordinator of Learning Communities at Michigan State, and held a similar position at Illinois State afterward. He was then the Director of the Freshman Center/Office of New Student Programs and Orientation at Columbia College in Chicago, eventually becoming the Associate Dean of Student and Alumni Services in 2004 at Northwestern University.
Gordon is also the recipient of three different awards from two college personnel associations. In March 2003, he was awarded the Dennis Trueblood Award for Outstanding Contribution from the Illinois College Personnel Association, an award given to those who have dedicated a great deal of time to their cause. Gordon also received the Adult Learner Perspective Award and the Diamond Honoree for the American College Personnel Association.
The Division of Student Affairs is the committee that decides who the new Dean of Students will be. Associate Vice Chancellor Jim Hill said at the May 5 Student Association Senate meeting that the university plans to announce the selection by the end of the week.