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SLC’s VP and Dean of Students aims to foster a sense of belonging
The remedy for a challenge is often simple, and it is more likely to succeed if it includes food. For Dave Stanfield, Sarah Lawrence College’s new vice president and dean of students, this looks like hosting monthly dinners for students at his own home. “It gets everyone out of their campus roles,” Stanfield said. “People relax, there’s more space to be vulnerable. And who doesn’t enjoy a home-cooked meal?”
Stanfield joined Sarah Lawrence in July of 2023 after serving as vice president of student affairs and dean of students for Yale-NUS College in Singapore, where he was responsible for most facets of student life: residential education, campus life, student services, career services, study abroad, intercultural engagement, and student well-being. “Sarah Lawrence interested me because it has a well-earned reputation as a forward-thinking college, known for its dedicated and close-knit group of faculty and staff who care deeply about educating the whole student,” Stanfield said. “And it seems to me the students’ residential experience could and should mirror that academic excellence.”
The shorthand phrase for this work is student affairs, which does not convey the challenges and potential of the field. Stanfield supervises, coordinates, and integrates the resources, services, programs, and personnel that support student learning, development, and experience. This includes oversight of the Dean of Studies Office, the Learning Commons, Access and Disability Services, First-Year Experience, pre-professional advising, fellowships, Career Services, Health and Wellness, Housing and Residential Education, Athletics, Student Life, and student-facing DEI initiatives. Student affairs programming is often where students meet their closest friends or how they secure meaningful internships and post-graduate opportunities. And when they need support, they often rely on assistance from a student affairs staff member.
“The frenetic pace of global crises affects everyone,” Stanfield said. Stanfield and his staff have seen an increase in students seeking services and support, a trend amongst most colleges and universities. Increasing staffing helps. Sarah Lawrence now has Residential Fellows, paid professional staff who help build campus community and support RAs in attending to the well-being of students. Offering support early, in the place that students call home, can address problems before they need more intensive assistance.
“It’s not easy, given the pace of modern life and the needs of our community,” Stanfield says, “but taking time to connect departments that don’t usually meet together can be a great source for creative solutions.” Regularly scheduled meetings with staff and student leaders are also an opportunity to slow down and get to know one another, to build community. And this slow-down in a world that pushes people to rush gives students a model for how to live and work after they graduate. The meetings also give Stanfield the opportunity to do what he sees as his number one directive: to listen.
“I’m new to this community, so right now I’m doing all I can to hear from it,” he says. “We’re making connections as we go, of course, but this deep dive will allow us to respond with care and hopefully success.”
What else does Stanfield see as potential avenues for community building? “We’re thinking about pre-orientation programming,” he says. “We currently have programs for students of color, first-gen students, and international students and it would be great to have interest-based programs, like theatre.”
Given his experience abroad (in Singapore and earlier in Qatar and the Netherlands), Stanfield is keen to bring the College’s mission of graduating global citizens to life. “It’s unique to have a mission statement with that kind of language. I’m excited to see how we can weave in a broader international cultural experience.”