Dean of Students reorganizes

Improved delivery of programs, services and support to students, plus clarified staff roles, are the result of a reorganization of the Offices of the Dean of Students.

The main change is the establishment of the Student Advocacy and Judicial Affairs office. SAJA, a new department in DOS, coordinates a range of direct services through its staff of assistant deans, the private residence hall liaison and graduate student interns.

Under the new system, assistant deans serve in generalist roles to increase their accessibility to students, staff and faculty, says Associate Dean of Students Lori Berquam, who serves as SAJA’s director. Before the reorganization last January, assistant deans had identified specialty areas of focus.

“The assistant deans have to be knowledgeable about a wide array of issues, be very resourceful, and have a lot of patience and perseverance to do this kind of work,” she says.

The reorganization will help eliminate confusion over the role of assistant deans, says Dean of Students Luoluo Hong.

“When I arrived last year, assistant deans were perceived to be part of the divisional leadership for DOS,” she says. “In fact, they were providing direct services to students. By defining SAJA as a separate department in its own right, DOS is able to highlight the unique and special work of the assistant deans.”

In collaboration with staff from other student life departments across campus – including University Health Services, the campus police department and University Housing – SAJA provides services including:

• Promoting a healthful, safe and respectful living-learning environment that embraces and capitalizes on the diversity of the campus community;
• Conducting general ombuds work, including problem resolution and conflict mediation, as well as identification of and referral to resources on and off campus;
• Managing and responding to individual student crises and campuswide emergencies;
• Advocating for students who reside in off-campus residences;
• Consulting with faculty and staff concerned about the students they teach or employ;
• Providing intervention and support to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and other forms of violent crime; and
• Administering the academic and nonacademic codes of student conduct.

SAJA staff also advise or coordinate DOS student assistance and support programs, including SPEAKUP!, the Student Crisis Loan Fund and the Greater University Tutorial Service.

The professional staff of SAJA includes Berquam and returning assistant deans Yolanda Garza and Suzanne Jones.

In addition, two assistant deans, Ervin (Kipp) Cox, former assistant housing director the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Elton Crim Jr., former director of Diversity and Equity Services in UW–Madison’s School of Human Ecology, have filled open assistant dean positions.

The final professional staff member to round out the SAJA office is campus newcomer Tonya Schmidt, the private residence hall liaison.

Students needing assistance from SAJA can access a dean on call by going to Room 75 in Bascom Hall, 8:30-11:45 a.m. or 1-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, or by calling 263-5700 and asking to speak with the dean on call.

Hong says the change in organizational structure will help the university community better understand the broad array of student life programs and services that the DOS provides.

“While the advocacy and adjudication functions fulfilled by SAJA staff are important services we provide for students, I don’t want people to forget that DOS also supports diversity education and multicultural programs, international student services, disability affairs, student organization services and the LGBTQ student support services,” she adds.

For information, including a listing of all eight units that report to the DOS and a copy of the divisional organization chart, visit http://www.wisc.edu/students/, e-mail dos@bascom.wisc.edu or call (608) 263-5700.