J OHNSON BRINGS CHANGES TO STUDENT LIFE

Nicole J. Johnson joined Rhodes in February 2023 as the new vice president for student life. Formerly serving as the dean of students and associate vice president for student affairs at Goucher College, Johnson brings an extensive background in the areas of student support and outreach, strategic leadership, student inclusion, administration and operations, student health and well-being, crisis management, and student accountability. We sat down with Johnson to discuss her new role at Rhodes.

First, what attracted you to Rhodes?

My goal was always to move back to the South. My parents were originally from Arkansas, and that’s where my mom is currently. The other part of it is my professional connection to smaller liberal arts colleges. Rhodes is an institution that other liberal arts colleges pay attention to. So, I was intrigued about where Rhodes is situated as an intellectual space.

What helped you make a connection to the campus?

My conversations with students are what really swayed me. I appreciated their honesty. They were very clear about the need for stability in this role. That they wanted Rhodes to be better, but it wasn’t just, “I’m going to complain.” It was, “We want this place to be better than we found it. And we want somebody that we feel we can entrust with making Rhodes better.” With a new president and a number of new vice presidents, there is an element of excitement for what can be built here. There’s a lot of hope here as well.

Is there something that you feel is missing at Rhodes or that you feel you’ve seen on other campuses that you don’t see here?

I don’t think there is necessarily something missing. I think there are challenges that all colleges and universities are having, which stem from the impact of COVID-19 on students’ socialization and what they believe belonging and engagement are. That’s changed a lot. I think a lot of colleges haven’t really thought about the inconsistency of academic preparedness during COVID—not everybody was educated the same due to education discrepancies. Not just at Rhodes, but across the board, the biggest challenges are going to be around how we create a 21st century post-pandemic residential college and laying out what that will look like, because it can’t look the same as before.

What are some immediate challenges that you want to tackle?

One of my early goals is reframing how people see the role of Student Life. Most of the time, people just think Student Life is about crisis, but we’re also educators. We’re in the process of making sure that we have the staffing and the systems in place so the students can thrive. We also must think about how we frame the roles of the professional staff in student spaces and give them the resources to grow and learn. We must make sure that our residential advisors find it rewarding and are compensated appropriately. All those things that go into making a campus run smoothly are being evaluated right now. A big goal will be getting students to understand that this is a partnership. Students drive the bus on how educators engage with them during the academic process.

Down the road, what are systems that you would like to have in place for the incoming first-year class?

I would like to have a residential curriculum in place through the Office of Residential Life that promotes living and learning communities. I would manifest a comprehensive experience program, meaning curriculum that would evolve from a student’s first-year experience to their senior-year experience. I want to make sure Rhodes is a place where students not only feel like they belong, but also that they matter, and have a team and division that is happy to be here and to come to work every day.

What is something that you’re excited for?

All the opportunities, all the challenges, and having the opportunity to process ideas with students, faculty, and staff. I enjoy the process of creating solutions together. I believe that there’s always room for improvement to make it better in the next academic year. There is a tremendous amount of space for growth in the division. I think there’s an opportunity to do some cool and innovative things in the field of student life and student affairs.