President Michael Roth named Michael Whaley as Vice President of Student Affairs on Thursday afternoon. Whaley, better known as “Dean Mike,” has served as the Interim Dean of the College since July 1, 2007. He will be the first to hold the newly created title at the University, which is replacing the Dean of the College position.
“I am absolutely thrilled about this appointment,” Whaley said. “I absolutely love working at Wesleyan and I love working with Wesleyan students. I think it’s going to be great in terms of continuing to work with students on a host of issues that we know will come up over the horizon.”
Roth is confident that Whaley is the right fit for the job.
“He has the experience, intelligence and sensitivity to be successful in this position,” Roth said. “He is devoted to creating co-curricular opportunities for our students in conjunction with the Academic Affairs, and Dean Mike will continue to be an advocate for improving the Wesleyan experience for the entire student body.”
The Vice President title marks a departure from the Dean of the College terminology that the University is familiar with. Typically, the Dean of the College is a faculty member who breaks from teaching for several years to act as Dean and then returns to the classroom. In recent years, however, the University has not pulled a faculty member for this position, and most institutions have changed to a vice-presidential model.
“This is…just a more accurate title for the Dean of the College position,” Roth said.
According to Whaley, it was Roth’s suggestion to create the new role. Whaley thinks that the title of Vice President reflects the nature of the work that his office does.
“It positions the office as a real key player in educational enterprise,” he said.
Whaley’s office is currently collaborating with Academic Affairs to enhance the co-curricular experience and to develop programs that will connect students and faculty outside of the classroom in an intellectual manner.
“We’re also looking at what levels of support we can offer to students and facilitate for students to help them perform even better,” Whaley noted. “Most students come to Wesleyan and are quite accomplished, but it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to develop and hone another set of skills.”
He also explained that he wants students to feel more like they’re involved with decision-making and that the administration is responsive to student concerns.
“I think we’ve made some progress in the last few years,” he said. “When we work together, we come to better solutions.”
Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) President Matt Ball ’08 called Whaley a “good listener” who addresses the student agenda.
“There’s been times this year when he’s advocated for the student voice in issues without any prompting or pressure from the students themselves,” Ball said. “[Whaley] genuinely believes in reasonable and fair policies, and his actions reflect that.”
Ball added that students really relate to Whaley.
“[He] is also a great resource because he’s so easy to get along with,” Ball said. “He’s a very personable guy, and I think students feel reassured when talking to him.”
Whaley came to the University as Dean of Student Services beginning in 1997, a title he still technically holds.
“I am currently still in that role as well as the VP role,” he explained. “I’ll begin conversations with my staff and with the WSA about the Dean of Student Services role now that my appointment has been made.”
He has a B.S. in microbiology from Cornell University and masters’ degrees in both counseling and higher education from Central Connecticut State University. His post-graduate studies have proven to be useful at the University.
“I’m someone who has been professionally trained in this capacity,” Whaley said. “I’ve studied student development and affairs and the theory that goes along with the work we do.”