After serving as interim dean of students for nine months, Allen Groves, a 1990 graduate of the Law School, was named permanent dean of students May 7. The Cavalier Daily recently questioned Groves about his office's goals and plans for the coming year.
CD: Mr. Groves, now that your position as Dean of Students is permanent, what do you see as some of the long-term goals for your office?
GROVES: One goal is reaching out to international students, both undergraduate and graduate, to make sure that they are feeling fully connected to the University and are a full part of our community. I think there have been some challenges there in the past. Safety and security is also going to be a critical aspect of our office for the foreseeable future, both short-term and long-term. That is a reality of the present college or university setting, and our office is an important player in that. This involves working closely with the police. I've developed a very good relationship with Chief Gibson and a number of the senior leadership and also the officers in our University Police. My office will be working closely with them, working closely with Marjorie Sidebottom [University director of emergency preparedness] and a number of other members of the community in planning and preparing and in constantly working to upgrade what we have in place and to make sure that our students are informed and fully prepared.
CD: You spoke about reaching out to international students. What is the benefit of having a tightly knit student body?
Groves: My ultimate objective is to take an increasingly large university, with the resources of a research university, and make it feel like a small liberal arts college. I think that when a community is close-knit several things happen. First off, you want a student to leave this place having grown by the varying experiences inside and outside the classroom
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