photo by Genevieve Humphreys

Following the announcement of David Tuttle’s retirement on Sept. 29, the university organized its search committee for the next dean of students and associate vice president for Student Life. Announced on Oct. 22 by Sheryl Tynes, vice president for Student Life, the new committee is co-chaired by Alex Serna-Wallender, university chaplain, and Michael Soto, vice president for Academic Affairs and professor of English.

The committee held its first virtual meeting in late October and aims to conduct campus interviews with finalists in mid-to-late February. Ideally, recommendations will be presented to Tynes in March, who will make the ultimate hiring decision in consultation with Danny Anderson, university president.

Due to the student-centered nature of the role, the committee’s search for Trinity’s next dean of students includes numerous opportunities for student input.

“So much of this can sometimes happen in an opaque way that students might sometimes feel left out of the process. I hope that’s not the case this time around. In the next few days, Dr. Tynes is going to be sharing an announcement about the search process. And that’s going to include a survey that will allow respondents to share what they think is most important for the committee to consider as it evaluates candidates for the job,” said Soto. “When we boil the process down to a handful of finalists, to the last three or four people under consideration, we’re going to make very sure that the finalists are in front of as many students as possible. At an early point next spring, so students will have ample opportunity to interact with the finalists and to share their thoughts about each of the candidates.”

To ensure the inclusion of student voices throughout the entire search process, the committee includes three student leaders alongside the faculty and staff members.

“I think it’s really important because having that student perspective when hiring for a position that is so student-centered, I think it’s really important, because a lot of what the dean of students does is interact with students,” said Oliver Chapin-Eiserloh, junior business and political science double-major and student leader of the search committee. “I know that they were wanting to have a group of students on the committee who are kind of representative of different student groups and initiatives across campus, and so they really want to kind of have that broad perspective when considering for that student-centered role.”

As with the dean of students, multiple members of the search committee hold positions at the university with a focus on student wellbeing. Lori Kinkler, university psychologist, acknowledges that the person filling Tuttle’s shoes will need to provide that support to students as well.

“My aim is to find someone who is ridiculously committed to our students. I’m a confidential resource on campus, so while I have a strong commitment to our students, my commitment stays quietly behind closed doors,” said Kinkler. “I appreciate that I can refer folks to the dean of students when they need a more outspoken advocate who can bring together several campus resources to get their needs met.”

Reflecting on his close working relationship with Tuttle, Soto recognizes that the student-centered nature of their work together will need to be furthered by the next dean of students.

“I’ve worked very closely with Dean Tuttle in a number of ways over the last three and a half years that I’ve been in my current administrative role. He and I have collaborated in a number of areas, we co-chair our retention and graduation task force, and I’m part of the student success team that he leads. There are a number of other ad hoc projects that we work together on. In a way, our strengths complement each other, I think, but we both share a kind of overriding belief that the institution’s mission has students at its very center, and supporting that mission without compromises is very important to the both of us,” Soto said. “If you take a look at the job description that’s on the Trinity website for the next dean of students, you’ll see that student centeredness is really at the heart of the job requirements, and that is one thing that I’m sure no one on the search committee will compromise on.”

Serna-Wallender echoed that student voices are not just valuable in the search, but vital.

“As with most searches at Trinity, but especially this one, student voices and input are crucial. Not only are there more students on this committee than most, but there will be times throughout the process for the larger student body to give their input, especially in meeting with and providing feedback on the finalists,” wrote Serna-Wallender in an email interview. “On previous search committees, I have noticed that student leader input is central to the conversation, and I expect that will continue to be the case in this search.”

“In order for this search to be successful, students will need to feel like they are gaining a true advocate for their needs,” Kinkler said.

As with other recent university search committees, committee members are undergoing anti-bias training to address any issues of prejudice or partiality. Following the announcement of university diversity and inclusion task force recommendations and given the student-centered position of the dean of students, the issue of prejudice is especially important.

“The diversity and inclusion task force recommendations are really an extension of work that’s been ongoing, especially within Academic Affairs, but also for other searches as well. The new Director for Student Diversity and Inclusion search is a good example — we made sure that all of the committee members were up-to-date in required university anti-bias training. We had very frank conversations from the very beginning about being aware of and, to the extent possible, recognizing where by sees and form our own opinions, for good and for bad, and we’re going to make sure to do that, again,” Soto said. “With this search, everyone is undergoing the required university anti-bias training. We’re going to make sure that we are evaluating candidates using an objective rubric that is calibrated to the requirements of the job, and we made sure that the requirements of the job are accurate and inclusive.”

Keeping goals of diversity and inclusion in mind, Serna-Wallender aims to find candidates that embody these goals in their everyday work.

“For me, the hope is to find a Dean of Students who is forward-thinking, an advocate for student-centered success, holistic well-being, and a champion of intentional inclusion,” Serna-Wallender said. “Someone who can be a bridge-builder across the institution, who cares deeply about our students, who can work deftly with their families and can help foster a sense of community and belonging for all who call Trinity home.”

Having worked with Tuttle before on various university initiatives, Soto is keeping in mind the demands required of the role and seeking a candidate who will continue Tuttle’s student-centered work.

“I’ve worked very closely with Dean Tuttle in a number of ways over the last three and a half years that I’ve been in my current administrative role. He and I have collaborated in a number of areas, we co-chair our retention and graduation task force, and I’m part of the student success team that he leads,”Soto said. “There are a number of other ad hoc projects that we work together on. In a way, our strengths complement each other, I think, but we both share a kind of overriding belief that the institution’s mission has students at its very center, and supporting that mission without compromises is very important to both of us. If you take a look at the job description that’s on the Trinity website for the next Dean of Students, you’ll see that student-centeredness is really at the heart of the job requirements, and that is one thing that I’m sure no one on the search committee will compromise on.”

On Nov. 4, the university published the job description and listing for the role of associate vice president for Student Life and dean of students.

Prior to stepping into the role of dean of students, Tuttle worked at Trinity in the Residential Life Office and Student Life. Although the search committee is not looking explicitly for a candidate from existing university staff, those that apply will be reviewed as equals to outside candidates.

“I think we have designed a search process that is going to do a really good job of fairly weighing candidates against one another, whether they are at Trinity or coming to us from somewhere on the far ends of the continent,” Soto said. “I’m not aware of any colleagues who are planning to apply for the role, but if some do that also wouldn’t be a surprise.”