The Dean Difference
A President and Community Like No Other
From academics and athletics to campus improvements and financial strength, our 13th President has made an impact like no one else in Dean’s history. It is an influence that solidified Dean in the present while paving the path forward for a prosperous future for the College.
From her first days on campus, Dr. Rooney’s decisions have always been about Dean’s students – past, present, and future. It is this ultra-focused and student-centric approach that has come to be known during Dr. Rooney’s tenure as The Dean Difference. Arriving at Dean in 1995, President Rooney quickly began creating the concept of a totally student-centric philosophy which was founded from her beliefs and background in student life that placed students as the central focus from every perspective. It was at this point that the modern-day ‘Dean Difference’ was born and remains the core of who we are as an institution today.
Of the countless examples of Dr. Rooney’s leadership at Dean, one of her greatest achievements is the ability to shepherd an entire community of staff, faculty, and alumni to first understand and then live The Dean Difference every day. Through it all, our foundation has never wavered. Dean College goes the extra mile for students, far beyond the limits of other institutions and continually exceeds the expectations of our students and their families. Dr. Rooney has led these efforts for twenty-seven years.
The Dean Difference in Action
Over the years, many have asked how we are able to accomplish the incredible outcomes that have been achieved. At Dean, we have found that breathtaking results are delivered with a simple formula – meet each student where they are and work tirelessly to get them to where they want to go. Dr. Rooney understood this straightforward yet powerful concept and structured an operation able to accomplish it. Campus-wide, ideas were discussed, groups were structured, and countless jobs created with every area flowing into and out of each other with the student serving as the epicenter where everything converged.
Student success is the core of a Dean experience and is our institutional Mission. At Dean, every member of the faculty and staff is dedicated to student success. From our Success and Career Advisors, academic coaches, and athletic coaches to everyone involved with our Morton Family Learning Center and dynamic student life teams, Dean allocates the resources needed to drive student success. Yet these areas are just the tip of the iceberg.
In addition to fostering a culture that promotes student success, Dr. Rooney continues to spend each day ensuring that every member of our Community understands the importance of our students and that whatever else needs to be accomplished, it is always second to ensuring student needs are met first. This attitude is shared and strengthened by the incredible dedication of Dean’s staff and faculty members who take every opportunity to be there for our students, both inside and outside the classroom. At Dean, academic monitoring of every student at multiple checkpoints throughout the semester is one of the most important things we do. This is in addition to the countless hours spent each year by members of our Community constantly engaging, encouraging, and praising our students. Our entire Community of educators, all work in unison to deliver The Dean Difference.
Making a Future Difference
Time marches on for all. The goal is to ensure that the decisions we have made and the actions we have taken today will contribute to a better tomorrow. In this respect, the impact that Dr. Rooney and her family have had at Dean simply cannot be measured and will live on long after they depart.
At Dean, we serve our students well and have dramatically grown as an institution since Dr. Rooney’s arrival in 1995 with an endowment growth from $8 million to over $70 million, student-athletes competing in Division III athletics and strategic construction projects that have physically altered our campus. In addition, we have grown academically, as we educate a strong mix of baccalaureate and associate degree-seeking students while offering cutting-edge learning support and modernizing education through our Dean Career Advantage and the Rooney Shaw Center for Innovation in Teaching.
This transformation is in no small part attributed to The Dean Difference. However, beyond the tangible ways that Dean has impacted our students from degrees earned and disciplines mastered to career ambitions fulfilled, there lies an even greater outcome. Every student that has entered onto our campus under Dr. Rooney’s tenure, has walked out knowing that they are part of a family. Families are not always perfect, yet when you are a part of one, you know you are in an environment that truly cares about you. At Dean, that is and will always be our foundation.
When Dr. Paula M. Rooney concludes her Presidency at Dean, she will walk off our campus but will never leave our family. The Dean Difference will remain in place and will continue to serve as our guiding light long into the future. We look forward to serving our current students and welcoming new Bulldogs to our family. We look forward to meeting them where they are and getting them where they want to go and achieving the unimagined heights, we know they can climb. We look forward to continuing to make a difference and we look forward to honoring the difference made by our 13th President by working tirelessly to help our students, now and always.
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