Sarah Wilcox is the new dean on the block, and her students say she seems to be more than qualified for the job.
Assistant Dean Wilcox began working in the Office of Student Life July 5, taking the place of Daisy Rodriguez, taking over both general dean responsibilities and specialized responsibilities for Asian Pacific-American students.
Wilcox said she was drawn to the job because she got to work with the A/APA community but was not limited to working with a specific group.
"It was a blend, and I loved it," Wilcox said
General responsibilities include "responding to crisis situations" in whatever form and magnitude they take place.
Wilcox said she responds to issues anywhere from student deaths to parents who need travel accommodations to Charlottesville.
As a resource for Asian and Asian Pacific-American students, Wilcox said, she is still getting to know all of the different groups and students so she can be an ally to them and an advocate for their programs.
"I want to put in the time to build those relationships," Wilcox said.
Patrick Lee, president of the Asian Student Union, said Wilcox hit the ground running when it came to getting involved with the students.
Lee said Wilcox has been to most of the 20 meetings that the Asian student groups hosted, Lee said.
"She's making a concentrated effort to get to know each student group," he said.
Dean Wilcox said she is excited to work with the entire student body, regardless of whether or not a student is of Asian descent.
"The best part of the job is getting to know students," Wilcox said.
In working with students, Wilcox said she holds the ideal of student self-governance in high-esteem. She said she did not take the job with an agenda, but, rather, her goal is to help students accomplish theirs.
"At U.Va., it's all about the students' goals," Wilcox said.
Some of the groups have stated that they want to expand their fundraising and program initiatives, including more educational programming including inter-religious dialogues.
Lee said Wilcox is already actively involved with the A/APA community, even in these early planning stages.
"She's really been able to spark a dialogue in the A/APA community," Lee said.
Wanted: Energy and Enthusiasm
According to Penny Rue, the Dean of Students office had a lot of space to fill last semester.
"We had a very busy spring," Rue said.
Rue said the office was conducting eight job searches simultaneously to fill several important positions, including that held by Daisy Rodriguez, as well as the senior associate dean of students position, which became available after Shamim Sisson retired.
Rue said it was important to find a dean who would make the effort to go out and meet students, because students won't necessarily know a new dean right away.
"Some people know the deans are cool people -- if students know this then they'll go in there," Rue said.
Rue said without solid student relationships, a dean will have a hard time being a good resource to the community. She said personal relationships are so important that each dean has a specific group they target.
Giving deans a group to advise gives them some focus when developing relationships, it also gives them a start from which they can spread to the rest of the student body, Rue said.
Students also participated in the interview process, which is important, Drew Austria, former ASU president, said, because students can give a prospective dean the low-down on everyday life at U.Va.
"Students will ask the tough questions and give a clear view of what they want in an administrator," Austria said.
Having students involved in the selection committee is crucial to moving the University in the direction students want, Austria said.
"Students can't lay back and wait for the administration to take action," Austria said. "Students need to make their voices heard."
Upon interviewing Wilcox, Austria said she was a very solid candidate.
"What really impressed us was her energy and enthusiasm," Austria said.
Lee said Wilcox's attitude really set her apart as a qualified applicant.
"She had this aura that was different," Lee said. "She was sociable but very results-driven."
Having the right attitude is not the only ingredient in the making of a successful dean, however; past experience needs to be considered as well.
Wilcox has previous student life experience working at the College of William & Mary with students in fraternities.
"I lived amongst the fraternities," Wilcox said. "And I loved it."
While in Williamsburg, she advised the Circle K community service organization, as well as the Asian Student Council.
Before her position at the College of William & Mary, Wilcox worked at Northern Arizona University as a residence hall director for students living in specialty housing.
Lee said it was her significant experience in the different areas of student life that made her a good candidate.
"She's seen all the sides -- working with lots of students," Lee said.
Austria said he liked that she had experience with A/APA students as well as non-A/APA students.
"It was particularly important that she could worth A/APA students and fulfill her responsibilities as a generalist," Austria said.
Though many of her jobs did not require her to work with A/APA students, Wilcox said she always made an effort to be involved.
"The ways I've worked with these students has differed, but the passion has always been there," Wilcox said.
At a Crossroads
While attending college at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Wilcox said she had a defining moment while sitting outside as a senior at her alma mater.
Wilcox said she had just received a job offer from an insurance company, where she had a very successful internship and made a lot of friends. She said she wasn't quite ready to commit to life as an insurance agent.
Like all fourth-years, Wilcox said she was trying to figure out what to do with her life, but unlike most students, she actually figured it out.
"My mentor walked by and I realized I wanted his job," Wilcox said.
Her mentor was Pablo Davis, director of multi-cultural affairs, who worked with students for diversity education, outreach and advocacy.
"It wasn't like clouds parted and a light shone down, but it was a fortuitous moment," Wilcox said.
After meeting with "everyone she knew," she said she realized that her goal was to work with college students.
"I knew that my calling was to work in higher education," Wilcox said.
Prior to coming to the University, Wilcox worked in many different capacities at many different universities, but she said her focus has always been on students.
Teaching Diversity
While earning her Master's of Education at Arizona State University, Wilcox worked as a teaching assistant for a class on culture and schooling, designed for future teachers who work with students who may have grown up with different cultural values. She taught them how those differences might affect students' performance.
"The goal was to help [future teachers] identify students with need," Wilcox said.
Students who had parents who read to them and took them to cultural events had cultural capital and were able to communicate with others about a greater variety of issues than students whose parents might have worked full-time and didn't have the resources to give their children as much cultural capital as their peers, Wilcox said.
This course aimed to help teachers identify cultural problems with their students and make adjustments to their class dynamic so all students had a chance to learn, Wilcox said.
The response to the class, like the response to much multicultural education, was mixed, she said. Often the people that need it the most don't open themselves up to those opportunities, and that can be a challenge.
"Sometimes we are working to educate people who may not want to be educated," Wilcox said.
Wilcox said allowing cultural differences to come between people was a detriment to society as a whole.
"It is a detriment to us all if we aren't in tune to other people's needs in this atmosphere of globalization," Wilcox said.
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