SuppliedAndre Costopoulos has been named the new Dean of Students (DoS) and Vice-Provost for the University of Alberta, effective July 1.
As Dean, Costopoulos will be responsible for maintaining a relationship between the university and the student body and supervising student services. Until then, Costopoulos will continue to serve in his current position of Dean of Students for McGill University.
In his time with McGill, Costopoulos was responsible for overseeing academic advising, mentoring and student rights. He also assisted in revising the McGill Code of Student Conduct. For Costopoulos, the position at the U of A is a logical next step for his career.
“I see the U of A as having a strong integration between teaching and learning,” Costopoulos said. “Also, a sense of local mission and impact in the community. McGill is a great place, but those two aspects are less well-represented there.”
In his term at McGill, Costopoulos has led the implementation of the “Ask an Advisor” and “Early Alert” programs. The first of these serves as a catch-all service for student inquiries, and directs students to the resources they need. Early Alert allows McGill to flag students who may need help or support in McGill’s computer management system, and pass that information on to instructors.
In terms of what Costopoulos plans to do first in his term, his answer was simple.
“Before any changes are implemented, I need to listen and learn about (the U of A),” Costopoulos said. “I need to become very familiar with the context.”
Costopoulos is still coming to his position as Vice-Provest and DoS with ideas — he wants to streamline the delivery of student resources at the U of A, he said. To mitigate the difficulties many students have with accessing student services, Costopoulos said he would create an “intake and triage centre” for students looking to access services. This would allow students to find the help they are looking for the first time, he said.
In addition, Costopoulos said he would work to streamline the paths of students leaving the university. Saying that post-secondary institutions have done a good job in making the entrance processes easier for students, Costopoulos said he would assist students at the end of their degrees.
“What happens after you graduate can be a big question for students,” Costopoulos said. “We have to work with students to figure that out going forward. We have to listen to what student anxieties are, and figure out what makes them almost fear graduation sometimes.”
As a member of the DoS hiring committee, Students’ Union Vice-President (Student Life) Vivian Kwan said she was excited for Costopoulos join the team.
“(Costopoulos) said he is not afraid to speak his mind on a lot of issues,” Kwan said. “It will be good to have someone who is brave enough to raise those concerns and be critical of what goes on on campus.”
To achieve positive student outcomes, students are going to need to be the first priority, Costopoulos said. Engaging students throughout their time at the U of A will aid the university’s help students transition into life beyond the university, he added.
“All students have a role to play in the university at all levels,” he said. “If we can send students out into the world knowing that they will have an impact on the world, that will help them when they graduate.”
