SC&I’s Assistant Dean for Student Services, Kevin Ewell, is one of only 14 staff members at Rutgers University-New Brunswick recognized for his work and dedication by Chancellor Christopher Molloy in a message Molloy wrote to the Rutgers community titled “Cultivating Community and True Belonging.”
Molloy’s message was posted to the Chancellor’s website and included in the February 26, 2021 issue of The Current.
Reiterating and expanding on Molloy’s praise, Rutgers University-New Brunswick’s Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration and Planning Felicia McGinty wrote to the 14 staff members in an email, “I'm writing to thank you for your willingness to consistently answer the call of service on behalf of our students and campus community and to acknowledge your commitment to access. You model student-centered leadership; your dedication and diligence have made a difference in generations of students' lives. You are standard-bearers for access and student success. We appreciate you for more than just your work. We also celebrate your character and the positive impact you have on the lives of our students. While your work is not done for accolades, your tireless efforts have not gone unnoticed. Chancellor Molloy said your name proudly and publicly in this edition of The Current. Please know that we see you, and we appreciate you.”
Ewell said he was honored by the recognition. “I embrace the spirit and practice of supporting educational access for all. My commitments throughout my professional life have all revolved around my efforts to improve and sustain college attendance, retention, and graduation for all students, especially students who are disadvantaged and marginalized. As a Rutgers alumnus, I was the beneficiary of many generous, passionate, and dedicated people who gave of their time to create educational opportunities for me.”
Ewell, who has earned two degrees from Rutgers, a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 1995 and a Master of Education in 2001 and is now pursuing an Ed.D. at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, said he strives to have a positive impact on students every day. “I never do it for the praise or for the thanks, because sometimes this can be a praise-less or thank-less job. I do it because helping students achieve their academic, personal, and career goals; supporting students through their hardships and crises; and creating platforms for students to be empowered is the role for anyone called to work in student services.”
Ewell added, “I also want to acknowledge the incredible folks within Student Services and within SC&I as a whole who do a tremendous job making a difference in the lives of our SC&I and Rutgers students. I work with some incredibly dedicated and passionate professionals. I couldn’t do what I do for students if not for the support and contributions of others who surround and support me.”
Some of the biggest challenges Ewell and his staff have faced occurred in 2020 when they needed to very quickly adjust their operations to support and advise students remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Describing the changes they made during the unprecedented crisis, Ewell said, “Within Student Services, we have transitioned our academic advising and student support services from in-person services to a completely virtual operation, with the help of teleconferencing tools like Zoom and WebEx. We also implemented Jabber to manage our phone traffic. Since we’ve have had a long history of success with supporting the Master of Information fully online program, we were able to borrow from that model many of the useful online tools and practices, so we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. We still maintain regular staff meetings to keep us all informed of issues and updates happening within SC&I, within the University, and within our professions.”
Discover more about SC&I’s Department of Student Services on the Rutgers School of Communication and Information website.
