After serving approximately two years as interim Senior Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Cedric Bernard Rucker stepped down from the role this month. Rucker said that some of his goals coming into the role were to facilitate community and reinforce student self-governance at the University.
The dean of students works within the Division of Student Affairs to bridge communication between students and the administration. Rucker said he tried to do this by amplifying student voices, as well as by frequently engaging with students at different events across both undergraduate and graduate education.
“We are a whole university of 25,000 plus students and it was really important for me to connect with the students,” Rucker said. “That was critically important to me…to make sure that the multi-faceted nature of the University, especially its diverse student population, is really heard.”
Rucker is an alumnus of the University graduating with a master’s degree and doctoral study in sociology in 1984. He previously worked as Assistant Dean of Admissions from 1983 to 1989 before serving as Associate Dean of Student Activities at the University of Mary Washington from 1989 to 2022.
Rucker initially retired in June 2022 and intended to join the Peace Corps, but was asked back to the University to first serve in his role as Senior Associate Dean of the Office of African-American Affairs. He then assumed the role of interim Senior Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students after Robyn Hadley stepped down from the position in 2023.
During and prior to his time in this position, the University experienced numerous tumultuous events, including a shooting and protests over global affairs.
Rucker spoke about the Nov. 13, 2022 shooting, in which three University students — Devin Chandler, D’Sean Perry and Lavel Davis Jr. — were killed. Rucker emphasized the impact of student self-governance at the University during challenging times because students are able to come together on their own to manage their responsibilities despite being directly affected by a tragedy.
“We as a community try to come together to support one another…in times of crisis because we believe that there is something special about these connections that we are able to establish here,” Rucker said. “It’s amazing for me on an ongoing basis to have witnessed how students come together in the time of crisis.”
As dean of students, Rucker had the opportunity to develop a connection with the student body. Rucker specifically mentioned the recent deaths of two students, including one Medical student, as an unexpected challenge that he faced in his position. Rucker said he attended the memorial service this month for first-year student Nico Ramos-Esteban who died as a result of a meningitis infection.
“I go to the memorial service last week just to look in that amphitheater and see the impact that one student who was here for a semester and a half had on the lives of his peers and members of the broader University community,” Rucker said. “That is absolutely amazing.”
Along with noting how watching students support each other through grief has been touching, Rucker said that it has been great to see how different organizations and activities provide the opportunity for students to be together. He listed volunteer work, Greek life and academic departments as “significantly special” mediums through which students connect.
“For someone like me to have the opportunity to drink that in, day in and day out, it’s phenomenally inspiring,” Rucker said. “That just keeps me going. That keeps me excited about waking up every day and coming into the spaces that make up U.Va.”
Reflecting on his time in this role, Rucker said his 33-year career at the University was a wonderful one that came with the great opportunity to engage with students. He said that watching students enter college during their first year and watching their transformation over their four year journey and beyond is a miraculous experience.
“I tell people all the time, I pinch myself because we in Student Affairs … have the opportunity to just witness what happens to you all,” Rucker said. “I stay in touch with students for years and you watch their lives evolve. There’s nothing like that.”
When discussing his decision to return to the University, Rucker noted the Nov. 13 shooting as one motivator and said that this it was a critical and important time at the University. He said that serving his alma mater and supporting the University environment were also consequential factors in his ultimate return.
“I care about this place and it has great meaning to me,” Rucker said. “If I’m able to serve in any way that supports the student experience … it was a decision easily made.”
Nicole R. Hall, former associate vice president of career and professional development, will serve as the next Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students and will be the fourth person to hold the role since former Dean Allen Groves departed the University in 2021. She will assume this role in March, after which Rucker will serve as her special advisor until June when he plans to again retire.
For Rucker, numerous moments from the past two years stand out as memorable, including attending different athletic events, having dinner with students and witnessing final exercises. And as a Lawn resident, Rucker said even the sound of screaming students in the middle of the night as they streak the Lawn is part of the experience.
“There’s so many special experiences that I will have in my mind, my heart forever. I love U.Va.,” Rucker said. “I loved having these two and a half years to be back in a place that has so much meaning to me.”
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