News Flash from the Associate Deans
DOS Staff,
One of the many advantages of having such a talented IT staff within Dean of Students is the ability to leverage their expertise in using technology to address complex issues. A particularly good example of this is the staff directory introduced yesterday at the all-staff meeting.
The goal with the staff directory is to create a simple, easily accessible resource for DOS staff members. One of the common themes in the focus groups held last November was the difficulty in navigating the complexity of our division. An aspect of that is who people are, understanding the work they do, and then simply putting a face with the name. The staff directory was designed to address those issues.
You can access the staff directory by going to www.vanderbilt.edu/deanofstudents/4staff and logging on with your VUNet ID and password. Once logged-in you will need to click the staff directory link on the left side of the page and an expandable list of departments will be revealed. Clicking on the “+” will reveal a list of the staff members, their titles, and their contact number. By clicking their name you can also see a short description of their responsibilities and a picture. Please note, this directory is not meant to replace the People Finder located on the Vanderbilt home page which contains contact information for every Vanderbilt student, faculty, and staff member.
Over the next couple of weeks we will ask you to log-in to the 4staff page and populate your entry with a picture and a very short 2-3 sentence job description. The description should simply cover specific areas of responsibilities not contained within your title or that may not be obvious given your office within Dean of Students. Hopefully, that description could be used as a starting point for a fellow staff member who may be trying to figure out where to direct a question or who may be the best resource for a particular issue.
We believe that simply by removing the barrier of knowing who people are within DOS we can begin to create an atmosphere of greater collegiality and collaboration. We certainly don’t view this as some sort of panacea, but are hopeful that this initiative serves as a practical solution to a few very basic needs. This should also be considered a pilot program. If you have any suggestions for ways to improve the directory feel free to contact any of us with those ideas.
Steve Caldwell, Pat Helland, Sandy Stahl
Associate Deans