Cynthia Cherrey's first introduction to Duke students came Tuesday, April 2 in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The University of Southern California Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs was with the thousands of students who crammed Cameron to watch the men's basketball team win the national championship. If Cherrey becomes Duke's next vice president, students can expect to see her at many more campus events.
That's Cherrey's style. Trojan student leaders said she is one of USC's most visible administrators-known as a strong administrative advocate for students and a facilitator of discussion and consensus.
In 1991, Cherrey was voted USC's outstanding faculty member of the year. Before accepting her current position, she won the University of Denver's Administrator of the Year award while serving in a similar capacity.
Her responsiveness to student input has made her very popular at USC, said Stephen Pollock, vice president of USC's Student Senate.
"[Cherrey] is very helpful and very receptive to our ideas," he said. "Most people know who she is. She's in constant contact with students.... She's the type of administrator that goes out and asks for input and ideas."
Soliciting input and giving advice will be an important aspect of Cherrey's administration if she becomes the next vice president. The Fulbright Scholar wants to bring Student Affairs to discussions about all topics involving students, not just extra-curricular life.
"Student Affairs needs to be at the table," she said. "We need to be helping faculty in and out of the classroom.... There are so many places where Student Affairs can help enrich a student's college experience."
From academic planning to Auxiliary Services, Cherrey said she would like to have Student Affairs involved in nearly every University decision. In addition to including Student Affairs in more discussions, Cherrey hopes to make the division a resource for faculty involvement in student life.
By providing more opportunities for faculty and student interaction, Cherrey hopes to enrich students' university experiences.
Rather than relying on the traditional faculty-student mixers and dormitory meetings that have met with mixed success at Duke, Cherrey wants to begin encouraging faculty to make time for students in less formal settings.
"I think we can encourage informal interaction," she said. "I know a president at one university that has a weekly pick-up basketball game.... I think if you provide opportunities like these, you can accomplish the goals of faculty and student interaction."
These faculty-student activities are a smaller part of a cultural change Cherrey would hope to bring about at Duke. As the University's next vice president for Student Affairs, Cherrey said she would blur the lines between the division of Student Affairs and the University's academic sector.
Cherrey, who holds faculty appointments at USC's Rossier School of Education and Annenberg School of Communication, said she would encourage students to participate in more academic endeavors such as undergraduate research. She would also like to develop a culture where students want to attend cultural programming and events.
By coordinating events with the curriculum and popular courses, Cherrey hopes that the events will slowly begin to garner student interest and over time become a popular part of campus culture.
Cherrey, who has written and researched extensively on leadership, organizational culture and student affairs, said issues that relate to space are very important in changing the campus culture.
Recently, Cherrey has begun addressing social space issues at USC, where she is overseeing the construction of a new $80-million campus center. The 250,000-square-foot center will provide much needed student meeting, programming, lounge and eating space.
At USC Cherrey also supervised orientation, judicial affairs and minority programs.
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