Dean Stein discusses goals

John Stein was named Dean of Students in October after former Dean Gail DiSabitino left for Clemson University. Dean Stein was born and raised in New York state, holding a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Master's degrees in Counseling and Educational Psychology.

Stein has been working with college students for 27 years. Prior to coming to Tech in 2002 as the director of the Success Programs, Stein held the position of Dean of Students at Sarah Lawrence College and Manhattanville College in New York.

"My career was drawn to me because of my own experience as an undergraduate student. I had a wonderful team of faculty and staff who made my college experience a great one," said Stein, Dean of Students.

"I enjoy working with Tech students very much. They are among the brightest, most motivated and respectful students I've worked with. They are extremely talented and willing to help those in need. I really believe that they can achieve whatever they wish," Stein said.

The Office of the Dean of Students assists students in resolution of problems, provides information about campus resources and supports students. The office is comprised of many departments, including Greek Affairs, Student Integrity and the Women's Resource Center among others.

While many students may find the lofty title of "Dean of Students" intimidating, Stein insists that he and the office are there to act as friends to the students, helping them out in various aspects of college life.

In a previous interview, Stein said he feels that Tech is very good at imparting intellectual knowledge into its students through the standard lecture format; however, students don't get much practice in dealing with ambiguities in situations. He realizes that creating that bridge between student life and academic life will supplement the education they get in the classroom and better prepare them for life beyond Tech.

"Right now I'm working on building a relationship between the students and the faculty. Many times a student may feel that he needs to talk to his professor but does not know how to approach or talk to the professor," Stein said.

"The message that I want to get out is that a student can just come into my office [to] sit down and talk about his problem and try to find a solution together. For example, he can pretend that I'm the professor and we can figure out what he would say and how he would say it before he goes to his professor," Stein said.

According to a freshman survey, only 25 percent of incoming students felt that they can freely talk to their high school teachers, where classes are smaller and met more often than college classes. This statistics led Stein to believe that even fewer students are willing to approach their professors.

"One of the things that I'm trying to do is to get professors to offer their help in the beginning of the semester. For example, they could emphasize that they hold office hours and students are very welcome to come in and talk to them," Stein said.

In addition to building a bridge between students and faculty, Stein is also working on putting more focus on the sophomores. Stein feels that after a year of being in the spotlight as freshmen with a number of classes and activities offered only for freshmen, sophomores may feel a bit disappointed as they start to truly embark on their college journey on their own.

"Sophomores are typically the last to get housing, last to get courses. We do a great job with Freshman Experience, but sophomore year is a transition year. Right now, I'm meeting with different people to see what we can do about the situation, to make their transitions a bit easier," Stein said.

Realizing that Tech is one of the most challenging schools in the country and students are constantly stressed out by classes and tons of extracurricular activities, Stein feels that it is crucial for students to find something they truly enjoy and engage in that activity as much as they possibly can.

"Students need to balance their lives. To get the most out of their college experience, they not only need to get involved in classrooms, ask questions, meet faculty, but find something they enjoy and follow that passion," Stein said.

"At a hectic point in a semester, they need to turn to something they enjoy and relax. They need to make time for that activity in order to take on the next day again," Stein said.

For himself, outside of the Office of Dean of Students, Stein likes to attend concerts, plays, movies and sporting events, especially basketball games. More importantly, he loves spending time with his family: Susan Stein, with whom he's been married to for 22 years, and his children Alex and Abby, rising seniors and sophomores in high school, respectively.