Dawn Singleton seeks to bring small campus feel to support new students
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Despite majoring in nursing and health sciences as an undergraduate student, Dawn Singleton said her time as an RA was more consequential in her approach to her new job as Syracuse University’s first Vice President of Student Transition, Access and Inclusion.
“It not only changed what I ended up doing after college, but it created a perspective that was so important to me as a person because the point of an RA is to have folks feel connected, to feel that they belong,” Singleton said. “And so I’m still doing that 20-plus years later.”
Working under SU’s Student Experience Division, she will oversee New Student Programs, the Intercultural Collective, the Center for International Services, support for graduate and professional students and various programs related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.
The new vice president role is a reconfigured position in the division with new responsibilities for ensuring student success at the university, Singleton said. The position was designed to support the unique identities that each student brings to campus.
“We want to make sure that from the onset of your very first day at campus that we’re being intentional about your transition and all the things that come with that transition because we know every student is unique,” Singleton said.
Allen Groves, SU’s senior vice president and chief student experience officer, wrote in an email to The Daily Orange that Singleton will be filling many of the duties previously handled by the late Dr. Cerri Banks, who served as SU’s vice president for student experience and deputy to the senior vice president. Banks died last July.
“Having someone with Dr. Singleton’s background and experience will allow us to better support our students,” Groves said.
Groves also wrote that Singleton will focus on the new student orientation and transition programs, graduate student support, DEIA initiatives in the division and cultural and identity support spaces.
Singleton will directly collaborate with Groves to develop new initiatives and assess existing programs, he wrote. She will also represent the division in university-wide meetings and committees.
With over 15 years of higher education leadership experience, Singleton has a wide range of experience in areas like residence life, student activities and academic programs, according to the SU news release.
Before joining SU, Singleton worked at Rowan University for 12 years. She said she worked to create several new programs to guide and support students’ success at the university, including the Achieving Success through Collaboration, Engagement and Determination program and the Center for Access, Persistence & Achievement.
Singleton also earned a doctorate in educational leadership from Rowan. The focus of her research spanned intersectional analysis of gender, ethnicity and culture in relation to women’s leadership roles in South Africa and the United States, according to the release.
Her past experience has provided her with a unique perspective, Singleton said, allowing her to facilitate direct communication with students about their needs outside the classroom affecting academic success.
She said she wants students to know they matter, from day one on campus until graduation, with people and programs in place to guide them along the way.
Upon Singleton’s arrival, 119 Euclid – a center dedicated to supporting and providing resources to Black students – transitioned to be a part of SU’s Student Experience division after being a part of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
As the semester begins, Singleton said one of her main goals is to nurture a “small feel” within a large student experience division. She said this starts with actions like talking one-on-one with students, walking around campus with a student or connecting a student with a resource in the Student Exp1`erience division.
Singleton also said she hopes to use her first semester on campus to observe, collaborate with students and staff and engage stakeholders. She will also directly work with the ODI, internal committees in the student experience division and various student organizations. She’s already introduced herself to the Intercultural Collective and its student leaders in the office.
Groves wrote that he’s confident in Singleton’s ability to adapt to the new role as she brings a “significant” level of knowledge to the areas she’ll supervise.
“Dr. Singleton was selected after a very competitive national search that included several outstanding higher education leaders as candidates,” Groves wrote. “She brings great enthusiasm and energy to this important work and is excited to join the Orange family.”
Since her arrival on July 3, Groves wrote, Singleton has attended most Welcome Week events where she had the opportunity to speak to students and colleagues.
“My role is to engage all students, so when I say that I will be out and about, I am out and about,” Singleton said. “For me to create any type of change or really understand the needs of students, I have to engage all of our students.”
