Inside the administrative realm of Garrett and Peabody Halls, many of the University's deans are, at any moment, assisting a student with financial aid problems, academic concerns or any number of day-to-day issues.
Trying to navigate within the vast expanse of academia, students can look to an intricate network of staff and faculty for advice.
The University's many deans serve as the backbone of that support system.
While association deans deal primarily with academic concerns, deans in the Office of the Dean of Students focus on student affairs outside of the classroom, such as summer orientation and fraternity and sorority life.
Lynn Davis currently is in her fifth year as the association dean for the University's Echols Scholars Program, making her responsible for approximately 800 students.
She explained she spent much of her time "advising about courses, general overall academic planning, research and internship opportunities and careers."
For many deans at the University, their own careers are multi-faceted. Some deans shift to these advising positions after teaching college classes, while others direct their college studies toward degree specific to counseling and college services.
Davis was approached for the job of association dean while teaching and researching. Now she juggles her advising duties with teaching Animal Physiology, a course offered through the biology department.
Davis appreciates having the opportunity both to teach and advise.
"It's meeting the variety of students that I wouldn't have met if I was only teaching upper-level biology," she said. "Here in Garrett Hall I see everyone."
One of the most frequent services Davis provides is referring students to the appropriate resources that can best address their problems and concerns.
She said association deans often interact with the Office of the Dean of Students, but particularly when a student has a serious problem such as health or psychological troubles.
Stephanie Goodell is one of four deans who works in the Office of Student Life.
"We are everyone's deans," Goodell said of her office. "We are here for everyone. We are all willing to help."
Goodell said some of her responsibilities included handling student withdrawals, taking calls from concerned parents and contacting students that have had a death in the family. Goodell also participates on a rotating basis with the nine-member crisis response team that always has one person on call for emergency situations.
Goodell did her graduate work at the University of Tennessee, where she received her masters in education. Her specific areas of expertise are leadership and community service, which she employs daily in advising groups such as U. Va. Lead, Third Year Council and the Virginia Service Coalition.
"My philosophy is that I've got something to share and I have experiences that give me a certain amount of expertise," Goodell said. "But I am learning from students all the time."
"My favorite part is the mutual teaching," she added.
Goodell said she is accustomed to an intense amount of student interaction - she spends at least 75 percent of her time in one-on-one or group meetings with students. However, Goodell said the Office of Student Life also interacts closely with the association deans, the police and the counseling and psychological services.
"Our whole purpose in all of this really is to provide educational opportunities for students," Goodell said. "And when we are in a position to take disciplinary actions, we see it as an educational opportunity and we hope that they look back in time and say, 'I really learned from that experience and I learned not to make the same mistake twice.'"
Shawn Lyons, one of 14 association deans in the College, clearly stated that his favorite part of being a dean is seeing "a student's success. I like the student who encounters adversity and uses the resources available at the University and becomes successful," he said.
Lyons explained that although it is hard to see a student suspended or expelled from the University, he said he believed a dean's duty to uphold the integrity of the University is just as vital as his duty to his students.
"As much as [deans] are concerned about the individual," Lyons said, "they realize students have to satisfy the requirements of the University. A balance needs to take place."
As an association dean, Lyons manages a host of responsibilities, although he viewed his primary responsibility as ensuring that students fulfill their basic area requirements.
Lyons received his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in Central Asian Languages and Cultures. It was while teaching at the University of Wisconsin that he first tackled the challenge of being a lecturer and a dean simultaneously.
Now, in addition to giving advice and helping students avoid academic warnings, Lyons teaches AMEL 100, From Genghis Khan to Stalin: Invasions and Empires of Central Asia.
Lyons said he is grateful for what he considers a successful dean system at the University. At many other schools, Lyons said, there is a "division between those who serve in the administration and those who teach in the classroom. We [at the University] have dual responsibilities; we interact with students as advisers and educators."
Penny Rue, who oversees the Office of the Dean of Students, is in the midst of her third year at the job.
"I consider that I have two co-equal responsibilities," Rue said. "One is to ensure the safety and well-being of students. And the other is to ensure a sense of community on Grounds."
Rue attended Duke for her undergraduate studies, double majoring in English literature and religion. She went on to receive her masters from Ohio State University in student personnel work, and then received her doctorate in counseling and personnel services from the University of Maryland. She now teaches a graduate level class in the Curry School of Education, College Student Development.
Rue said her interaction with students could be classified into three basic types: "One is when I am helping student leaders make something happen that they want to happen."
The "middle ground," as Rue called it, is when the student contacts her, unsure of who to turn to with questions regarding financial aid or academic troubles.
"The third part are the students that I have to call in because they have come to the University's attention in some negative way," she said.
Rue said she viewed her job as dynamic and the students as creative and vital. "I love my job," she said. "Every day is different. Every relationship is full of possibilities."
The deans don't view their job as all give and no take. It is the constant supply of concerns, ideas and questions from students that make the job a learning experience for both parties.
"There is nothing like working at a university," Goodell said. "There is no typical day."
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