Division of Student Affairs
2009-10 Annual Report
Department: Dean of Students Office
Person Completing Report: Michael Mardis
Executive Summary
The beginning of this academic year had obvious challenges as we worked to respond to
issues related to the campus flood. The DRC staff temporarily relocated to the Dean of
Students Office. Our staff did an excellent job assisting students and other units with
concerns that arose from the flooding. As it did during the winter ice storm from the
previous year, the SAC again served as a place of refuge during a natural disaster. This
academic year was the third year for the newly created Dean of Students Office. This
year we were able to achieve a number of significant accomplishments including
implementing new programs to enhance the quality of campus life.
Our most significant accomplishment was the ability to collaborate with colleagues and
students across campus to ensure a high level of service. The office is providing the
services, implementing the programs and developing the relationships necessary to
achieve our mission. The following is the mission for the Office of the Dean of Students:
The Dean of Students Office serves the University's most valuable asset - our students.
We promote a positive learning experience and make available opportunities for students to achieve their full academic and personal potential by:
* Promoting a vibrant student experience
* Building relationships among students, faculty, staff, and the community
* Upholding University standards and protecting student rights
* Empowering students to promote positive change in our world
To fulfill our mission, the office provides a variety of individual services to address the
needs and concerns of students. Our office is fortunate to collaborate and interact with
all areas of the University community in the course of the year. It was an exciting year
filled with changes and ideas for new directions. We would like to take this opportunity
to thank all our colleagues and UofL students for assisting us during the course of this
year. We understand that we depend on so many others to help us fulfill our
responsibilities at the University of Louisville.
The office was able to enhance the quality of student life at the University of Louisville
by undertaking new policy initiatives, creating new services, and focusing upon many of
the exemplary programs already in existence. The most notable accomplishment of our
office this year is the development of relationships with students and other campus
constituencies. Of significant note is the outstanding relationship with SGA this year.
Our office has actively sought out ways to connect with others. We have maintained a
high level of visibility at student events and have actively served on numerous campus
committees. Direct interpersonal interaction with student leaders is an important part
of developing a vibrant campus life. These interactions benefit the University as
students trust that we work with the objective of keeping them as the priority.
We were able to positively impact the lives of our students. This accomplishment is
what we continually strive to achieve and will always be at the core of what we hope to
accomplish in the Dean of Students Office. The office is committed to continual review
of the services and programs that we provide. Working in collaboration with others, we
have outlined a number of strategic initiatives that will advance the needs of the
University. This report describes the programs and services provided by the Office of
the Dean of Students during the 2009-2010 academic year.
1. Programs and Services:
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Club Programming Committee (CPC)
Persona Non Grata (PNG) Incidents
Persona Non Grata (PNG) Appeals
Student Conduct
Student Care Team
Student Outreach Luncheons
Dean of Students Website Revision
Student Handbook Revision
Student Government Association – Student Health Relocation, SGA 2020
Plan, and the Student Recreation Center (SRC) Plan
Distribution of Literature/Free Speech Requests
Welcome Tents
Campus Field Days
Student Demonstrations
Sexual Assault Response
Deceased Student/Family Letters
Student Grievance Officer
Coffee and Juice with the Dean
Parent of the Year Awards
Annual Student Awards
Student Trip
SGA Leadership Visits to the University of Kentucky and the University of
Cincinnati
2. Major Accomplishments:
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Club Programming Committee
Financial support from the Dean of Students Office, Student Government
Association, Provost Office, Undergraduate Affairs, Residence Life and
the Executive Vice President for Research allowed the Club Programming
Committee to be very successful again this year.
In the spring of 2008, we received 56 applications for a total of $113,351.
This year we received 227 applications requesting over $303,343. Of
those 227 applications, we were able to fund 161 events. CPC sent
letters to all the Deans and VP’s soliciting funds for next year in hopes of
obtaining additional funds so we can fund even more events.
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Filled Program Assistant Senior position. Charisma Stigall started in the position on March 15, 2010.
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Parent of the Year Award - Forty-six parents were nominated for the second
annual Parent of the Year Award and approximately 120 people attended the
event. Ms. Judy Dyda, nominated by her daughter Ariell, was named Parent
of the Year.
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Established/enhanced campus and community relationships by actively seeking out ways to connect with others. We have maintained a high level of visibility at student events and served on numerous campus committees. Direct
interpersonal interaction with student leaders and the quality of these relationships benefits the University as students trust that we work with the objective of keeping them as the priority. This accomplishment is what we continually strive to achieve and will always be at the core of what we hope to
accomplish in the Dean of Students Office.
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DOS Website - From September 14, 2009 to June 30, 2010, approximately
2,420 people visited the site, and it received 6,381 hits.
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Worked with Cardinal Card office to finalize the design of the University of
Louisville Religious Life Association (RLA) cardinal card.
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Worked with the Counseling Center and Student Health to fill the new grantfunded Alcohol coordinator position and clarify Student Affairs’ role in alcohol education, prevention, and intervention initiatives.
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Worked with the Student Care Team to communicate with the Faculty Senate and other departments to ensure that all resources of the University are
available to students in crisis.
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Continued training program implemented last year for DOS student workers.
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Worked with Joe Dablow in Undergraduate Affairs to distribute the Faculty/Staff Students in Distress folders to faculty across campus.
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Medical Withdrawal Policy – Student Care Team devised a University-wide
medical withdrawal policy approved by various University officials that will
be implemented in the fall.
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Student Awards Program was expended to become a University-wide student
awards program. Nineteen different categories of awards were presented
and eleven University departments participated.
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Improved working relationship with Marketing/Communications. Examples
include Parent of the Year Award, Service Learning, International Service
Learning and the Student Awards.
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Flood /Emergency Response - Several Student Affairs offices were impacted
by the flood of 2009 and needed to temporarily relocate. Dr. Jackson was out
of the country when the flood occurred, so Dr. Mardis pulled together the
student affairs leadership team, and they developed a response plan to help
students and take care of departmental needs.
The Disability Resource Center operated out of the Dean of Students Office
for several days. The Career Center and Counseling Services were closed for
a period of time and eventually relocated to Stevenson Hall. The Housing
staff worked hard to manage all the buildings and care for student needs.
They worked with physical plant and outside contracts to get all the facilities
ready for the fall semester. Humana gym experienced some damage but,
was quickly cleared for occupancy. The University Club closed for a period of
time, and the Red Barn served as the location for the Football team’s lunch
training table. The SAC again served as a refuge during the storm.
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Electronically distributed the code of Student Conduct and Student Handbook to all students for the fall and spring semester.
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Worked with student leaders to review the student demonstration protocol.
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Expanded student leadership program and increased funding to assist with
student retention efforts. These programs included CELS, Global Leaders,
Living Learning Communities, Friends of Lou and the India Alternative Break
initiative.
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Implemented QPR Training for recognized student organizations.
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Created an electronic display board to recognize student award winners and
other student accomplishments.
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Bridged the gap in services for medical/compassionate reason withdrawals
by creating a comprehensive community resource list for the Student Care
Team.
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Created new Student Care Team recordkeeping process to record data from
team meetings and established a procedural guideline for inputting data into
Judicial Officer to maintain continuity of the process.
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Conducted training for twenty-nine faculty, staff and students who will serve
as members of the Student Conduct Hearing Council.
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Developed Social Media Guidelines to encourage students, staff and faculty
to accept responsibility for their personal behavior and future success regarding social media usage.
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Created a proposal for development of new educational conduct programs to
be implemented in the student conduct process.
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Developed a model for the Student Conduct Hearing Council and a follow-up
training program and Blackboard shell for the continued education of Council
members.
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Persona Non Grata (PNG) List Review – The PNG list was reviewed for updates and deletions, a secure location for the list was established, and various components of the PNG data were consolidated.
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Worked with Student Activities and Housing to develop two sustainability initiatives (Fall Green Up and Clean Up, and the Swap Shop) to encourage students to donate unwanted items and increase their sensitivity to various sustainability concepts.
3. Staffing Summary:
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Michael Mardis - Dean of Students and Associate Vice President for Student
Affairs
Michelle Clemons - Assistant Dean of Students
Natesha Smith – Graduate Assistant
Robin Sutherland - Unit Business Manager
Beverly Wolford - Administrative Associate
Kim Buckner/Charisma Stigall – Program Assistant Senior
Brenda Hart – Student Grievance Officer
Pam Curtis – Director of the Center for Civic Engagement, Leadership &
Service
Kim Shaver - Service Learning Coordinator, Center for Civic Engagement,
Leadership & Service
Amanda Romito Hamilton – Vista Coordinator
Gerome Stephens – Coordinator, Leadership Programs
Bridgette Welch – Graduate Assistant for Service Learning
Natasha Ramsey – Graduate Assistant for Center for Civic Engagement,
Leadership & Service
Vice President for Student Affairs staff housed within the Dean of Students
suite:
Susie Cucura – Coordinator of Communications and Publications
Brian Hamilton – Department Assistant/ISLP
4. Activities and Initiatives that Support Academic Units:
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Conduct
Hosting Graduate Assistants and Interns
Support Internship Fairs
Perform Records Checks
Provide Absence Notifications (Cardinal Angels)
Early Learning Advisory Board Service
Retention and Graduation Rates
Orientation Sessions
Student Care Team
Teaching
Gen101 Classes
5. Activities and Services that Support Diversity
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The Club Programming Committee (CPC) provided funding for a number of
events in 2009-2010 that contributed to diversity efforts on campus. These
efforts included events such as: African Night “Reclaiming the Past”, International Banquet, Chinese New Year Celebration, First Annual Holi Celebration,
Islamic Awareness Week, NAACP 2nd Annual Freedom Ball, Black History
Month Celebration, Porter Scholars Ball and Award Ceremony, Mr. Black
UofL Pageant, Pride Week, International Fashion Show, Diwali, PINK, Celebration of Native American Culture, West African Drumming Ensemble, UNICEF
International Festival, Sri Lankan Day, and Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the
South Tell Their Lies.
The Dean of Students Office hosted an International Tea in October. There
were approximately 100 international students in attendance along with staff
from the Dean of Students Office, Disability Resource Center, Intramurals
and Student Activities.
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The Dean of Students hosted seven luncheons during the academic year for
a diverse selection of students and student groups. Luncheons were held for
the following: IFC Presidents and IFC leadership; Panhellenic Council Presidents, NPHC executive officers; and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
Two different lunches were held with campus religious organizational representatives. There were so many organizations that we had to have two separate events. An open invitation was sent to all commuter students to attend
a luncheon. The first to respond were invited to attend the lunch. A diverse
group of nontraditional students attended the commuter lunch. For all
meetings the dean of students attended and the SGA president was also able
to attend many of the lunches. Other invited guest attended lunches if the
students worked closely with a particular staff member. Sodexo sponsored
the events, so there was no cost to the University for these
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Campus Ministers Outreach – Religious Life Association (RLA)
This year the Dean of Students continued outreach to the campus ministers
and had several meetings with this group to share information. Dr. Mardis
also had individual meetings with many of the campus ministers. He
attended all RLA meetings and served as the University Liaison to this
organization. He hosted two outreach luncheons for the student leaders of
the various RLA affiliated student organizations. This year, Steve Boutell of
the Wesley Campus Ministry served as the RLA convener.
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International Service Learning - Belize
This year Dr. Mardis took the leadership of coordinating the ISL Belize spring
break trip. Ten faculty/staff and 30 students from four different units
attended the spring break trip.
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NPHC Advisor - The National Pan-Hellenic Council Advisor position, funded
by the Dean of Students Office, was held by Mr. Brian Peeples.
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NPHC - The Dean of Students Office, in conjunction with Greek Life, sponsored a NPHC Strategic Planning Committee to identify policy suggestions for
increasing membership and organization presence on campus.
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Global Leaders Program
The Global Leaders Program (GLP) was a two-day workshop for eighteen of
UofL’s most dynamic, energetic and visionary undergraduate students. This
year was the first time this program was offered. GLP was coordinated by
CELS and supported by the Dean of Students and Vice President for Student
affairs. GLP provided an opportunity to explore key concepts and challenges
of leadership in the US and international contexts, with a special focus on
communication between cultures and building culturally diverse teams.
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India Alternative Break
Dr. Mardis, Cheryl Utz, Gerome Stephens and Pam Curtis worked with
student Deep Aggarwal to coordinate an India alternative break trip. The
President’s Office and University Foundation provided support for this
initiative.
The students helped two nonprofit organizations in Chandigarh and Punjab –
Sewa Simran and Sood Bhawan – operate medical camps in needy
communities. More than 800 people participated in the free camps, which
offered glucose screenings, eye exams, general checkups and gynecological
exams.
6. Activities and Services that Support Community Service and/or Civic Engagement:
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Orientation
Advancement Initiatives
Early Learning Advisory Board Service
QPR Training
Alcohol Summit
Meal Plan Appeals
Assistance for Coalition to Reduce High Risk Drinking & Drug Use
7. Staff Professional Development Activities:
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NASPA Webinar
 “H1N1 Outbreak: Lessons Learned and Preparation for the Next Pandemic” Dr. Mardis co-presented with Donna Barry, Anita Baker, and
Dennis Sullivan, April 2010.
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Dr. Mardis was a NASPA Conference Program Reviewer for the 2010 NASPA
National Conference.
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Dr. Mardis was a member of NASPA, SACSA, ASCA, ACUI and ACPA.
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Dr. Mardis served as NASPA Kentucky State Director 2009-2010
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Dr. Mardis was a NASPA Region III Advisory Board Member 2009-2010
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Ms. Clemons served as Program Reviewer for the 2009 National Association
of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) national conference.
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Dr. Mardis served as a panel speaker for the Role of Incident Command System and NIMS on campus, “What More Can We Do? Building the New Legacy of Campus Safety”, March 2010 at the NASPA National Conference.
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NASPA Summer Symposium
Dr. Mardis presented “Reflecting about the Recent Rise of Behavioral
Intervention and Threat Assessment Teams,” at the NASPA Summer
Symposium, June 2010.
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Dr. Mardis Served on the Executive Council of the College Personnel Association of Kentucky for 2009-2010.
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Dr. Mardis Co-presented “Exploring a Common Voice” with Angela Taylor at
the CPAK Conference, March 2010.
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Dr. Mardis served as a Co-investigator with Dennis Sullivan on grant proposal
OGMB 081323 entitled “Capable and Ready for Disasters,” Submitted to the
U.S. Department of Education, September 2010.
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Ms. Smith presented at the 2009 College Professionals Association of Kentucky (CPAK) conference in Louisville. The presentation was entitled “Career
Transition Series: A Model for Transitioning Veterans” and provided information about a newly created program designed by Natesha Smith and Terri
Carr for University of Louisville military and veteran students.
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Ms. Smith presented at the 2009 College Professionals Association of Kentucky (CPAK) conference in Louisville. The presentation was entitled “Student
Conduct: A Means to Enhancing Critical Thinking” and emphasized the incorporation of critical thinking components into the student conduct process.
The presentation also offered suggestions on the types of measures that
would enhance critical thinking components.
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Ms. Smith presented at the 2010 Veteran’s Symposium held in Louisville. The
presentation was entitled “Enhancing Your Veteran Student Organization”
and provided audience members with an opportunity to discuss best practices for effective leadership with veteran student organizations
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Dr. Mardis’s Campus Presentations (selected):
 Student Orientation Training “Ethical Decision Making, Is This a Narcissistic Generation?”, February 2010
 Colloquium on Diversity Series panel member “Expanding the Term of Diversity: A discussion of Religion and College Achievement”, January 2010
 CPAK Careers in Student Affairs Day, “Panel of Senior Level Student Affairs Professionals”, November 2009
 Parent Orientation, “ Connecting You and Your Student to Uof L”, 2009 2010
 Professional Development Committee Series “International Service Learning: Students International Learning Experience”, October 2009
 Summer Academy, “Staff Motivation”, July 2010.
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QPR Training – In collaboration with Housing and Residence Life, our office
provided three suicide prevention training sessions to students, staff, and
faculty during the past academic year.
8. Assessment Initiatives:
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Student Care Team Review
An assessment of the Student Care Team, conducted by Student Care Team
members Michelle Clemons, Teresa Crum, Christian Gamm and Dana
Sullivan, was completed. Items examined were team size and recordkeeping
among other things. After the members of the SCT group reviewed the
results, it was agreed that the results be prioritized, organized as goals and
objectives to be focused on systematically.
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National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
The Dean of Students Office worked in collaboration with other departments
and students to successfully increase the NSSE survey response rate to over
30%. NSEE is a survey specially designed for students to provide information
about the undergraduate experience, including views about the quality of
education and how students spend their time.
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Retention and Graduation Assessment for Greek Life
The University 2020 plan has as an objective that by the year 2020 the
University will have a 60% graduation rate for incoming freshman. Our office
worked with institutional research to better understand the impact of Greek
participation on retention and graduation rates. Last year for the first time,
analysis was completed measuring the retention and persistence of students
who were in a fraternity or sorority.
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CPC Assessments
In an effort to solicit feedback and measure the effectiveness of the CPC
process, a survey was sent to each RSO that received funding from the Club
Programming Committee.
9. Department Goals for 2010-2011:
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Continue to expand student leadership programs and increase funding to assist with student retention efforts
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Continue outreach initiatives with former student leaders and cultivate Divisional development strategies
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Work towards obtaining Student Affairs section within UofL Magazine
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Explore the possibility of implementing student learning objectives and assessments for SGA.
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Continue evaluating staff to appropriately meet the needs of students and
the Dean of Students Office.
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Continue to engage other campus constituencies in a dialogue to determine
the feasibility and benefit of developing an “Essence of a Cardinal”
creed/motto.
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Seek ways to increase and expand funding for leadership programs.
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Gain approval of recommendations to revise the Code of Student Conduct
and implement changes.
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Continue student outreach lunches and other initiatives to connect with students.
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Continue reviewing all aspects of the Speech and Distribution of Literature
Policy including a review of how for profit businesses are approved to distribute information on-campus.
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Continue recruiting and training faculty, staff and student representatives to
serve as student conduct hearing council members.
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Continue to work with members of the Student Care Team to provide a regular opportunity for communication between departments, ensuring that all
the resources of the University of Louisville are available to students in crisis.
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Continue working with SGA and others on campus to strengthen CPC and increase the opportunity for RSOs to receive funding.
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Explore feasibility of Dean of Students staff having off-campus access to Judicial Officer and PeopleSoft so information can be accessed during an emergency.
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Complete PNG protocol and make sure that all processes required by protocol are in place.
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Implement changes to the Dean of Students website that will allow for easier
navigation to the information that people need.
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Make sure staff utilizing Judicial Officer receives appropriate training.
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Increase initiatives to make Health Sciences Campus students more aware of
services and activities that would be of benefit to them.
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Complete Student Care Team recordkeeping protocol and make sure that all
processes required by protocol are in place.
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Continue to work with the College of Education and Human Development to
provide quality experiential opportunities for graduate student internships
and assistantships.
10. Issues and Challenges for the Department During 2010-2010 and Beyond:
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Budget
The state budget crisis continues to have a negative impact on the entire
University community. The University has had to deal with ongoing concerns
regarding the possibility for additional budget cuts. Staff remain concerned;
students are concerned about tuition increases and the economy.
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Student Care Team Threat Assessment/Risk Management
It will be important for the University to continue to evaluate the best
practices as it relates to threat assessment and behavior intervention teams.
We have the Student Care Team in place, but it is not designed to serve as a
threat assessment team such as some other institutions are establishing.
This concept was discussed with University Counsel and Dr Lowery
(Consultant) and at this time they are in agreement that the SCT is a
reasonable professional response to the increased concern for helping our
students. The SCT will need to continue to evaluate national trends, legal
standards, reasonable professional actions, and campus climate to determine
if modifications in the purpose of SCT are appropriate. If SCT is to one day
serve as a larger clearing house for all potential student threat concerns that
student, faculty, or staff members have, then additional resources will be
necessary.