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RECAST | Student Affairs at Evergreen

by · November 16, 2020

From: Smith, Jeannette <smithje@evergreen.edu>
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2020 11:02 AM

Hello Campus Leadership Group friends! 

Since September, there have been small announcements about work happening to review the role and culture of student affairs at Evergreen. Our team has been charged with delivering a recommendation to Senior Leadership that lists specific, tangible, and measurable ways we can embody student affairs work across the college. These recommendations need to come from all of us; the people on the front lines serving students every day.  We are excited to be in a place to share and welcome you into this conversation!  

In brief, you should know: 

  • This conversation and design work includes you!  We have created multiple ways for you to engage, beginning with canvas.  
  • Our timeline is brief, with a recommendation submission due to Senior Leadership mid-February, followed by an implementation plan. 
  • Our design team is made up of student-facing staff from across the college and faculty. We approach this work with great heart and deep joy and gratitude for our community.  

Context: 

  • The 2018 reorganization and reduction moved student affairs offices and functions across multiple divisions. 
  • The 2020 June budget reduction saw the elimination of the Vice Provost for Student Engagement, a position that served in the role of chief student affairs officer, leaving the remaining offices that are situated in the division of Student and Academic Life. These various offices that were impacted are full of people: you and me and all of us, who serve students in many ways by providing services, programs, and support.  

Our Process: 

  • Dr. Larry Roper, NASPA’s 2021 Blackburn Distinguished Pillar of the Profession recipient, has successfully supported many campuses experiencing change similar to ours. He tells us, “There are hundreds of structures and ways of being organized. Just pick one! Then, do the real work of centering students to center your working relationships across the college.”   
  • With this guidance in mind, and using an anti-racist lens, a small team of people across the college have been looking at how we center students, value the profession and culture of student affairs, and come together to deliver student services. The team is aware that there is great work happening; holistic advising, new academic directions, altered student services committee, and more are places where caring and competent people are charting new roads towards supporting students. This incredible work will not be disrupted or impeded, rather our team is looking to answer a broader question on what it looks like to serve all Evergreen students in a student-centered way. 
  • To answer that question, the team is engaged in a lot of methods and deploying different tools. One of those tools is a Canvas course named Student Affairs at Evergreen. It is here, where anyone with a current Evergreen email may access the work this team has embarked on. You can read meeting notes, review reports, or check out our initial charge and timeline.  

Join the conversation now! 

The canvas discussions section is a place to be in conversation with colleagues across the college about what it means for us to do this work together. The discussions section will be available and open starting today, November 16, and close 8 pm on Monday, December 07.  While the discussion section is open, there is also a link available for more discreet and confidential feedback.  All other materials in canvas will remain open throughout this process.  To self-enroll in the canvas course please use this link: https://canvas.evergreen.edu/enroll/KYDLND  

Please share with your staff! 

Check out the video… 

We encourage you to check out the attached video  and share with the people you supervise and advise. You can do this at your staff meeting, in a 1:1:, or even via email. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_nhsGfbRHA&feature=youtu.be

We hope you’ll join the conversation!  

In gratitude,  

Ariel Birks 

Carolyn Prouty 

Emily Pieper 

Hannah Simonetti 

Ivana Trottman 

Jadon Berry 

Jazmyne Kozak 

Jeannette Smith 

Margaret Blankenbiller 

Jeannette Smith, Ph.D.
she/her/hers


Interim Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Engagement
The Evergreen State College  |  Olympia, WA  98505
Phone: 360-867-6220  |  Fax: 360-867-6697

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