The Dean’s Council is a fairly new organization on the William Woods University campus. It started in 2016, with a goal to create a group that opens important lines of communication between students and faculty, while also celebrating academic achievement on campus.
The Council consists of a small group of ten students who applied and interviewed for the opportunity to work closely with Dr. Aimee Sapp, the Dean of Academic Affairs. Acceptance into Dean’s Council requires membership in the Honors Program; other than that, members of the Council are diverse in their majors and interests. This diversity allows us to address just about every discipline here on campus.
I have been with Dean’s Council from the very beginning, after being drawn to the idea of becoming a student leader and eager for the chance to be heard when it came to my academic experiences as a student.
Our roles are multiple and rewarding. One of the most important things we do is become mentors for the incoming Honors students, guiding them through orientation and during their Connections class in the Fall. It is important to us that the Honors Program feels like a family, and we do everything we can to help each other out.
Just last week, we organized the annual Dean’s List Celebration, a tradition that is reserved only for those who make the Dean’s List (3.6+ GPA) for both semesters of the previous academic year. This event is always a good time—we bring out kayaks, play music, raffle gift cards, and eat from some awesome food trucks!
In the Spring, the Council observes teaching demonstrations for potential new faculty on campus, where we’re able to give our opinions and say whether we think a professor would be a good fit for William Woods and for our students. Other events we do include assisting in the inductions for honors societies, hosting trivia LEAD events, and helping out with Convocation at the end of the year.
While we have only been around for a couple of years, I am really proud to see how far Dean’s Council has come. Our team gets better every year, and I love working with people who are so creative and driven to make every task we have the best it can be.
Dean’s Council was one of the first things I really got involved with on campus, and I owe a lot of my own personal growth to being involved with it so early on. Through the Council, I have learned how to become a more effective leader, be more confident in myself, and effectively get my voice heard, all while having fun and laughs throughout. And, hey, the free lunch during monthly meetings definitely isn’t a downside as well!