Associate Dean of Students/Director of Residential Life
The Associate Dean of Students/Director of Residential Life assists the Dean of Students in support of school-wide student life and has particular responsibility for overseeing all aspects of life in the residential Houses. The Associate Dean/Director of ResLife is responsible for ensuring that policies and practices providing structure for Residential Life and programs implemented in the Houses appropriately reflect and support the larger educational mission of the school. In addition to these responsibilities, the Associate Dean/Director serves on a House duty team and assumes teaching and coaching responsibilities.
Supervision and Partnerships
Associate Dean of Students/Director of Residential Life reports to the Dean of Students and is a member of the Deans' Office team. Developing and sustaining partnerships with Community and Equity, Wellness, Health Services, Global Citizenship, Counseling, and Athletics are also essential to supporting holistic education through the lens of student life.
Specific Responsibilities
Support and oversee residential and House life, including student housing:
- Set agenda and run Community Life Council (CLC) meetings with Dean of Students
- In consultation with the Community Life Council, develop and implement residential programming.
- Support House Heads in the work of building House culture and managing House needs.
- Provide evaluation feedback for House Heads and support House Heads in providing feedback for House team members. Meet bi-weekly with House Heads for professional development and to address House issues.
- In consultation with the Dean of Students, assign House duty teams.
- Provide a visible Deans' Office presence in the Houses.
- Assign student housing, including implementation of lotteries for returning students and coordination of decision-making on requests for housing change.
- Coordinate with Facilities and Technology Departments regarding residential facility/technology/security issues.
- Manage Orah system for student life management and communication (training and system design).
- Meet weekly with the Dean of Students and Health Services/Counseling offices to oversee student needs and issues.
- Oversee residential life budget.
- Facilitate annual review of residential life program, House duty teams, and residential student leaders. Develop and support schoolwide holistic education programming:
In consultation with the Community Life Council, Dean of Students, Health Services, and Chaplains, coordinate programming for all students addressing personal, social, and moral issues at appropriate developmental levels, including but not limited to topics of Wellness, Leadership, Episcopal Values, Global Citizenship, and Anti-Racism.
Oversee and support Student Leadership:
- Coordinate and oversee selection processes for student leader positions.
- Coordinate implementation of combined Student Leader Training in May, and during orientation, and coordinate yearlong training for House Prefects.
- Coordinate the SMLeads session offerings.
Work with Dean of Students in responding to disciplinary and attendance issues:
- Respond to both minor infractions and major rule violations, including meeting with students, faculty, and parents, conducting investigations, and, as appropriate, guiding cases through the Student Discipline Committee process.
The next Associate Dean of Students/Director of Residential Life must have a passion for holistic education, viewing Residential Life as a vehicle for guiding our students' development, supporting them as they seek to fulfill the educational outcomes articulated in the St. Mark's Mission Statement. This includes challenging students to think critically and creatively to discover and make meaning; to communicate skillfully in a variety of modes; to collaborate effectively, demonstrating openness to diverse perspectives and new ideas; and to cultivate knowledge of self, including healthy habits of mind, body, and spirit. The Associate Dean/Director should demonstrate strong interpersonal, organizational, and communications skills with students, parents, and colleagues. Additionally, the Associate Dean/Director should have a deep understanding of and passion for supporting St. Mark's commitment to becoming an anti-racist school.