St. John's News

St. John’s administrators work tirelessly to ensure that our students are provided with a quality, affordable education that embodies our Vincentian mission. In an effort to give new and prospective students, their parents and friends, as well as our returning students, a glimpse into the responsibilities, challenges and concerns of St. John’s leadership, we’re presenting a series of interviews with those who make a St. John’s education the stimulating, student-centered and rewarding experience that it is.

In this first interview, St. John’s Vice President of Student Affairs Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., speaks about the University’s commitment to meeting the needs of 21st Century students.

We caught up with him during Freshman Orientation.

Q.: Father Maher, you’ve been with Student Affairs for a few years now. What areas fall under your umbrella?

A.: Student Affairs encompasses residence life; student wellness, including counseling and general and mental health services; student activities and programming, a large part of the Division that includes student organizations and club activities; and Learning Communities. And the Career Center is a very significant area.

Q.: Tell us about your responsibilities as Vice President?

A.:  The very best thing about being Vice President of Student Affairs is the opportunity to interact with students. I’m always thinking about those interactions when I’m trying to make decisions, or create and assess policies, processes and services. Those contacts are really what make it worthwhile for me and I try hard to do it frequently. In a position like mine, if you’re not careful, you can get buried in meetings or paperwork and never get out of the office and so it’s great that within the structure of the job I can be interacting with students—at meetings, at luncheons, club meetings, Orientations, service opportunities, all sorts of events.

Q.: Right now, Freshman Orientation is underway. How you are interacting with the new students as they travel around the campus?

A.: Well, I have the opportunity to address both parents and students on the first day. I talk about the opportunities students have to be at St. John’s and about all the people who have made sacrifices for them to have that opportunity—parents teachers, and other significant people in their lives. I tell them that they’re really blessed to be at St. John’s at this point in their lives and in the life of St. John’s, not only because it’s St. John’s University but because of the many things that are going on here: the new buildings, the campus learning communities, the many internships, all the things at their fingertips and one of the ways that they can make the most of this opportunity is to link their passions to their academic study and activities outside the classroom. When they do that, they’ll find that St. John’s is a wonderful experience.

Q.: There are thousands of students at St. John’s. Do you see a wide variety of them engaged in groups and organizations, or are you seeing the same students over and over?

A.: What we’ve seen in the last few years is the widening of a trend, there are more students involved who have a wide array of interests that are not exclusive of one another, from spirituality to environmentalism, to political activism, to service and so on. What I’ve observed is that the circle is widening. It’s hardest at times for our commuter students, who may be taking public transportation, perhaps a subway or two subways or two buses or working a significant number of hours. We’re looking into ways of providing them with opportunities for engagement that are more suited to the life they are living: living at home, working and with other responsibilities. We are finding that students are becoming more receptive to engagement

Q.: At Father Harrington’s Presidential Summit on the Millennial Student, we heard that students are communicating in ways that many of us are not, including blogs. You recently created your blog (“The View from Student Affairs”) on the University’s Web site. Are you going to continue to do that?

A.: Yes, actually, I just posted a new blog entry about Orientation. The message will be that Orientation is a wonderful experience and I’ll invite those who are reading it to post responses if they wish. It’s also going to say that there are really some wonderful opportunities post-Orientation that students really need to grab onto and so I’m listing our activities and pointing them in the directions of engagement.
 
Q.: You mentioned that Learning Communities fall under your umbrella. How is that going?

A.: It’s gone well. Jackie Grogan of Residence Life has been working on that and she’s done a great job. It’s been a very ambitious undertaking to have every freshman resident and then an additional 500 commuter students being involved in Learning Communities. What was terrific for me personally was that I met with most of the faculty who were involved last year and, in a sense, recruited them. It’s wonderful to see the dedicated and experienced, creative and gifted faculty that we have. They’re really a pleasure to work with!

Q.: How many faculty members participated?

Twenty-nine this year and we’re broadening that in the upcoming year, adjusting the model based on assessment and some feedback so that we can get more faculty involved. We want the residence halls to be a place where faculty can feel welcome, a place that’s part of the academy and the life for the University community.

My overall goal for the resident program and the Residence Village is to build a bridge between academic life and residence life and integrate them as best as we can. That means creating a place where students can have all the fun things that are part of college and residence life, and at the same time have a place that, at its very essence, connotes learning, where there’s a sense that students are growing, learning, and interacting around their classes, projects and professors.

When we can provide opportunities for student-faculty engagement, students can see their professors outside the classroom as well as in; at the same time, it helps faculty see the students’ lives, the things they’re juggling, etc. We want to facilitate the mutual understanding and respect, and build that engagement and those relationships in a very meaningful way.

Q.: Some young people today say that no one listens to them. Would you agree that St. John’s leadership is trying hard to hear them?

A.: I think the key is finding the right way to truly listen. There’s been an emphasis, and a correct one I think, about using survey data that’s available. But you also need personal interaction to get a context for what the lives of students are like. I’m always thinking about that. What are their lives like? How do we adjust our programs, services and policies to help them grow and be the most successful they can be? How do we challenge ourselves to leverage technology, listening and interacting with the most effective tools?

It’s my experience that even if students disagree with what you’re saying, if they feel and believe that you are earnestly listening, they’re incredibly grateful for that and I think you’re better for it. It’s critical that in a regular and sustained way we do truly listen.

Q.: One of our primary institutional goals and a goal for each individual is student satisfaction. What do we do to make that happen?

A.: Part of Father Harrington’s challenge has been, “how do we serve our students in an extraordinary manner?” He’s not referring to successfully completing a transaction, he’s asking how we help students resolve the issues they have and connote an ethic of care.  How do we imbue that in the St. John’s culture?

That process begins with people like me, those in administration and academia. And when others see that we recognize the value in serving students in an extraordinary manner, that we’re holding ourselves accountable, it sanctions that behavior for them and they act accordingly. Bottom line: students benefit.

Q.: The new University/Academic Center will be wonderful asset for Student Affairs.

A.: Yes, and for the entire University as well, most especially our students. In a way it’s almost a hub, a meeting place wonderfully positioned halfway between the Residence Village and the rest of the campus.

The fact that the Center is coming on board in 2009, during a time when we‘re working hard to serve the students in an exceptional manner, is wonderful. Of course, It’s not the building itself that will do it, it’s the people in the building and their commitment to service that enlivens the spirit and culture. With that in place, the new building will be a very special place for students to gather.

Q.: How long have you been Vice President?

A.: Since 2005. I was Interim Vice President in 2004, and then named Vice President by the Board of Trustees for 2004-2005. Before that I was Vice President of University Ministry. This position has challenged me to think and act as I might not have before. I’ve been able to grow and be stretched and bring something that I really care about and hold dear, the Vincentian Catholic Mission, in a deeper way into my own experience in Student Affairs and in University Ministry as well. It’s helped prepare me in a certain sense for this position.

Q.: What else would you like people to know about Student Affairs?

A.: My office and our division are working hard to provide extraordinary service to students. We’re deeply committed to doing all we can to work with them so that they can be successful and satisfied, can grow and develop as best they can while here at St. John’s. They should know we have great people in the Division, who are incredibly committed to the students and constantly pushing themselves to see how they can better provide students with the best experience possible.

We are very student-friendly, we open our conference rooms for training and student workshops and the like, and it’s a great way, naturally, to bump into the Vice President or senior people in Student Affairs as well.