Vol. 24, No. 24	June 4, 1999

In New Role, Wayne Blair Helps Create Community for Undergrads

BY ABIGAIL BESHKIN

Wayne Blair, who has served as director of student activities since January 1998, has been named special assistant to the dean of student affairs, a position he will assume at the start of the fall semester.

Blair's main task will be to address the specific needs of individual undergraduate communities such as women students; students of color; lesbian, gay and bisexual students, and international students. He plans to work closely with Dean of Student Affairs Chris Colombo, the staff of the Office of Student Development and Activities and student leaders to develop and lead workshops on diversity and multiculturalism and make them an integral part of orientation, staff development and leadership training.

It is a role Blair said he finds particularly exciting, as it combines his nearly 10 years of professional experience in student affairs with his graduate studies at Teachers College. Blair is working toward his doctorate in international education development, looking at how a region's culture and economics impact on its educational systems. Blair worked with Colombo to design this new position in response to the growing diversity of the student body. Blair has already begun developing methods "to analyze how we do business so we can adjust ourselves to serve our always-dynamic, ever-changing student population."

Working with international students presents an exciting challenge for Blair because there is such a range of student experience even within the international student community. For instance, many international students may be dealing with the fact that they are the first members of their families to attend college in the United States, and thus are having very different college experiences than their parents or siblings ever had. Some students may be working toward U.S. citizenship, while others plan to return home after their four years. "I've always thought of myself as coming from a global perspective. I find cross-cultural communication and the increasing globalization of universities and its populations fascinating. I've worked in various areas of student affairs including residence life and student activities," he said. "Now I'm looking forward to expanding my skills, especially in something so closely related to what I'm studying."

Blair is also looking forward to being able to resume his graduate studies, something he put on hold last semester to devote himself to the demands of the director's position. Colombo said he considers himself extremely fortunate that Blair's academic and professional interests coincide with an area of student affairs in which there is great opportunity for growth. "More and more, we are seeing that our students need to be prepared to interact on a global level," he said. "With Wayne's new position, he can expand his horizons in a way that gives him new experiences, while the University gains the benefit of learning from somebody already so skilled in working with diverse populations."

This is also a crucial transitional time for the Office of Student Development and Activities as it prepares to move to its new home in Lerner Hall, Colombo said. Blair, a four-year veteran of the Office of Student Activities, will offer strategic support in helping the office make the move and adjust to its new staffing and programming model.

Recently, the Office of Student Activities changed its name to the Office of Student Development and Activities to reflect what Colombo said he hopes will be an enhanced mission for the office. Blair will work closely with the staff of the Office-which has expanded to include an associate director and a third student activities coordinator-helping it assume its new roles.

One of the major changes, Colombo said, is that the Office of Student Development and Activities will be responsible for keeping Lerner Hall active with programming for the University community.

"We work directly with students to create programs which complement the learning that goes on in the classroom. The point is to build community, and this year we will also be focusing on running programs that appeal to undergraduate and graduate students as well as to faculty and staff-programs that bring all different populations together."

Another major initiative of the new office will be to expand the leadership training programs for undergraduates, not only for student group leaders, but for first and second year students who are potential student leaders. Blair will also collaborate with staff in devising leadership development programs for students of color, discussing specific issues that may arise for students involved in leadership in campus minority groups.

Overall, Blair said he expects this upcoming year to be a challenging one: "Now it's time for me to expand my own skills and knowledge while helping to enrich undergraduate student life on campus."