Associate Dean of Students and Director of Housing and Residence Life Brian Dawson will be resigning from his position at the end of this semester in order to pursue jobs with more direct student relations, according to Dawson.
A national search is being done with Dean of Students Mark Davis chairing the search committee, University Chaplain Sara Barton and associate deans of students Sharon Beard, Brad Dudley, Tabatha Jones Jolivet and Connie Horton completing the list.
Dawson arrived at Pepperdine in May 2011 after being the Director of HRL at Cal State San Marcos from February 2004 to April 2011.
President Andrew K. Benton confirmed the news via email: “He is a good and talented man, and I hate to lose him.”
“I have absolutely loved my time as associate dean here at Pepperdine and am so blessed for the opportunity,” Dawson wrote in an email.
Dawson wrote that the reason he was resigning was to pursue several offers and opportunities in which he could have more daily influence and contact with students. “My current position is focused much on administrative needs,” he wrote.
Davis announced Dawson’s resignation through an email he sent to the Student Affairs staff in the fall. “Dear colleagues, I’m sorry to inform you that Brian Dawson has announced his resignation at the end of this academic year,” the announcement read.
After narrowing down the initial pool of about 60 candidates to 10, final interviews are being conducted with hopes of announcing the new director by the end of the semester, according to Davis.
Davis wrote in an email that the new Director should be “Someone who loves God and loves students, can build strong partnerships on campus, manage a $30 million budget and make the wait list disappear!”
The announcement also detailed some of Dawson’s personal characteristics — flexibility, proactivity and friendly disposition — and thanked his “wonderful” staff. It asked for the Student Affairs staff to join Davis in thanking Dawson for his contribution.
Dawson listed some of his accomplishments while heading the HRL office: HRL discounts to students, the choice for student room and roommate selection, promoting themed housing and improving common areas such as the Lovernich Commons and the gyms in Towers.
“I’ve enjoyed working closely with Brian over the past three years,” Davis wrote. “He truly loves students and goes above and beyond the call of duty to serve their needs.”
Davis explained that one of Dawson’s greatest gifts is inclusion and mentioned his constant efforts to make every student feel included and at home.
Davis described Dawson’s job interview, in which he showed a picture of students at a campus event and said the question he trains his staff to ask, “Who’s missing from this picture?” thus exemplifying his inclusive nature.
“Brian has a heart for each and every student, and I’m grateful for his example in living out our Christian mission,” Davis said.
A job listing was posted on the Pepperdine jobs website on Feb. 12. The description reads that the duties of the position are to provide leadership for day-to-day operations, to provide vision and guidance to the recruitment, selection, training and ongoing development of staff and students, to provide leadership, respond to emergencies and to provide leadership for Pepperdine’s HRL program.
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