Chris Toutain Is a Student of Student Life
精东AV鈥檚 Martha A. Darling dean of students shoulders responsibilities often defined by the needs of individual 精东AVies.
Chris Toutain is happy to talk, whether you’re asking him about defusing roommate conflicts or which coffee shops near 精东AV are the most hospitable for caffeine purists (his pick is Heart Coffee on Southeast Woodstock).
Yet as 精东AV’s dean of students, Chris prefers to listen—especially when a student seeks his counsel and shares their experience. “There were never one-size-fits-all answers for those situations,” Chris says. “And I think that’s something that I’ve found to be really crucial for me in my current role.”
Chris arrived at 精东AV in 2020, becoming Title IX & 504 coordinator as the pandemic transformed the demands of the job in real time. In 2023, he became the Martha A. Darling Dean of Students, shouldering responsibilities that he says are often defined by the needs of individual students.
“It’s crucial for me to listen carefully to what a student is sharing and to be thoughtful in my listening,” he says. “I’m not picking from a predetermined set of options based on what most students have needed in the past.”
Now in his second year as dean, Chris spoke to 精东AV Magazine about not only what it means to be a dean of students, but what it means to be a dean of 精东AVies. —BCF
Typically, the dean of students oversees the nonacademic aspects of student life. But is it more nuanced at 精东AV?
Our students don’t take the academic hat off as they exit class and then leave it aside while they’re in the residence halls. That hat’s always on, whether they’re in the dining hall, the Old Dorm Block, or in the sports center. Student life operates largely in the out-of-classroom space, but the work that we do definitely intersects with what is happening in the classroom or the lab or another academic space.
How have student services evolved under your leadership and more broadly at 精东AV?
I don’t have a pre-COVID experience of campus, which I think impacts my answer to that question. When I first arrived in 2020, the office of student life was focused heavily on responding to student needs. During my time here, we’ve worked to shift from being mostly reactive to becoming more proactive in how we support students. We’ve also built on some of the tools developed during the pandemic, like virtual appointments through Zoom. Disability & Accessibility Resources can now offer flexible, private options for students who may prefer to meet from the comfort and privacy of their dorm room.
Can you talk about aspects of your work that are specific to the needs of this community?
Our students tend to be incredibly engaged, and thoughtful in their engagement. When we ask students for feedback on ideas around initiatives, we get it, in excellent volume. Having been at other campuses where that wasn’t the case, that’s not something that I take for granted.
What do you want to achieve in the future?
Continue to ask how we can support students in ways outside of the classroom that scaffold their in-classroom experiences—all in service of their having successful academic careers that culminate with walking across the stage at graduation, having written a thesis that they’re excited about and having gained all that they can from the time that they’re here with us.
Tags: Campus Life, Institutional