By Maddie Garvis\/\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hood is welcoming Ron Wiafe as the new Dean of Students this semester following the retirement of Olivia White in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wiafe comes to Hood from Gettysburg College, where he was the director for Student Rights and Responsibilities for the last five years. Wiafe said that the values of Hood College spoke to him and that was a large part of what prompted him to apply for the Dean of Students position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose core values of hope, opportunity, obligation and democracy, they really spoke to me,\u201d Wiafe said. \u201cI\u2019m at a place in my career where it\u2019s critically important that I\u2019m at an institution that believes the way that I believe and aligns their thinking with the way that I think, and Hood College appears to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wiafe was hired in November 2020 but didn\u2019t start in the position until January 2021 just before the start of the spring semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am proud to welcome Dean Wiafe to the Hood Community,\u201d President Andrea Chapdelaine said. \u201cHis comprehensive knowledge and wide-reaching professional experience will further strengthen our commitment to building a holistic and robust experience for each of our students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wiafe said that he has a lot of ideas for initiatives to implement here at Hood but is first evaluating the current programs and procedures already in place to get a better sense of what initiatives would fit with Hood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wiafe said that one thing he really values is student feedback on the work he\u2019ll be doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we are doing a program, or we\u2019re changing a policy, or adjusting a procedure, I love to seek student feedback on those types of things,\u201d Wiafe said. \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to engaging with students and seeking their feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing that Wiafe hopes to accomplish here at Hood is to establish a more systematic method of collecting student feedback about programs at Hood like the residence life, commuter services, and student engagement programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something I want to accomplish as quickly as possible because I think student feedback is really critical,\u201d Wiafe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wiafe said he is looking forward to engaging with even more students and faculty as the semester continues, and that he\u2019s really liked what he\u2019s seen of Hood so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think Hood is amazing, he said. \u201cThe students I\u2019ve met with thus far are very motivated and focused on their courses, they\u2019re focused on their opportunities, and they really care about the Hood community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"