Hectic. Challenging. Rewarding. These are all words that CHASS Dean Jeff Braden uses to describe his typical day as dean of the second largest college on N.C. State’s campus.
According to Braden, there never seems to be a spare moment during his days. Whether he’s meeting with department chairs or other college deans, hiring new faculty members or simply brown-bagging it with the students that make up CHASS, it’s safe to say that Braden is a fairly busy man.
On Jan. 28, however, all this will change ‘- at least somewhat, as Braden and Margaux Novak, a junior in English, will switch places as a part of CHASS’ first annual ‘Dean for a Day.’
The idea for the event came from an unlikely source. ‘The idea for dean for a day was mine,’ Braden said. ‘My expectation for the event is that I will get to have a window into the student experience at N.C. State.’
Braden said part of the motivation behind the event is the fact that he’s never been a student at the University.
‘I’ve never been a student on this campus, and I really want to see what it’s like to be a student on this campus, particularly from one of my own majors,’ Braden said. ‘At the same time, I want to give students a window into what it’s like being a dean.’
Ironically, the idea for the new event was the result of joke made while conversing with colleagues and reminiscing about an old show called ‘Queen for a Day.’ Braden joked about the idea of doing a collegiate twist on the University’s campus. ‘[I thought], queen for a day? Why not dean for a day?’
In November of last year, Braden’s seemingly innocent joke, however, became the bud of a full-blown campaign to get one student in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences to switch places with Braden.
According to Lauren Kirkpatrick, the director of communications with CHASS and organizer of the day’s festivities, the requirements for student applicants were quite simple.
‘The only stipulations were that you be a CHASS major and that you have classes on that day,’ Kirkpatrick said.
Furthermore, Braden said part of the purpose of this experience is to learn about varied student experiences on this campus. For this reason, Braden and CHASS decided that the previously mentioned stipulations were the only ones to be considered in finding his replacement for a day.
‘We weren’t trying to bias it in favor of any kind of student either. We left it wide open,’ he said.
In order to apply for the chance to be dean, students simply had to submit a brief sample of writing, consisting of no more than 100 words, explaining why they would be good candidates to be dean and why their daily experiences might be interesting to Braden.
‘We did a lot of publicity, we put flyers up and we put it out there,’ Kirkpatrick said.
However, in the end only 15 students actually applied for the chance to fill the dean’s shoes. One of those students, however, was Novak, who recently returned from a three-month study abroad in Romania.
While Novak said she does not consider herself any different from her peers, she said she is incredibly honored to have the chance to partake in the first installation of ‘Dean for a Day’ mainly because she’s just like everyone else.
‘I sit in the Caldwell lounge and look at the weird branch from that tree that everyone sits there and climbs on,’ Novak said.
This is what she attempted to articulate in her essay to become dean.
‘What I really tried to get across in my [essay] was that I’m a student just like everybody else,’ Novak said. ‘So by choosing me as the dean [for a day], they’ll be able to vicariously experience a lot of other people’s day.’
In the end, a group of CHASS student ambassadors did choose Novak, possibly because of her depiction of herself as a universal student. Or maybe it had to do with one special class on her schedule: water aerobics, which Novak said she believes was a factor.
‘Students want to see their dean in water aerobics, right,’ Novak said.
All in all, Novak said she’s pretty excited about the experience.
Despite what some may say and think, however, Braden contends that Novak’s day will be no walk in the park.
Currently on the schedule for Novak are meetings with campus leaders such as Interim Provost Warwick Arden, other college deans and even a brown bag luncheon with CHASS students themselves.
Knowing what awaits her, Novak said she is convinced that she is up to the task. She also said that Braden will find his time just as occupied.
In addition, Novak said she hopes to get a lot out of this experience, mostly knowledge of what exactly a college dean does.
‘I don’t really know what a dean does. I don’t think any student knows,’ Novak said. ‘So, I’m curious to know what deans do and what they talk about.’
Regarding how involved he plans to get in Novak’s regimen, Braden said that he intends to go all out for this endeavor.
‘It’s basically for the entire day. I’m planning on starting Wednesday evening and going through Thursday at 5 p.m.,’ Braden said. ‘Of course it will depend on what she’s got going on Wednesday evening. I know she’s got a couple of classes, and I’m looking forward to taking those classes.’
Regarding what he anticipates will be the most difficult part of Novak’s day, Braden said, ‘There will be so many people she’s never met before and such a variety of activities that she’ll have to move from one point to the next. It can be kind of overwhelming. I’m sure she’ll manage it, but it’ll be challenging.’
As for her hopes for Braden, Novak said she ultimately wants this experience to provide the dean with valuable insight into what the life of a typical college student is like.
‘So many people have this idea of classes and all this free time, but it’s so much more than that. They do have classes, but they juggle so much like real adults,’ Novak said.
