After more than a year away, we are excited to relaunch DOSA Developments as a space to reconnect, realign, and celebrate the incredible work happening across our Division of Student Affairs. Beginning this month, the newsletter will be shared every two weeks to keep us informed, inspired, and engaged. Our goal is simple: to strengthen connection, build belonging, and elevate engagement across the Division — because when we stay connected, we get to awesome together!

In this Issue:  

• DOSA Dates - Mark Your Calendars
• Staff Updates - Happy Birthday, Welcome New Staff, Vacant Position Searches, Staff Departures
• THRIVE - DOSA Professional Development 
• Departmental Involvement - Events and Requests
• Division News - Workgroup/Committee Updates
• Recognition - KUDOS, RJ Award

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Aquarius & Pisces! 

Victoria Diggins - 1/1       Dr. Jazz - 2/2         Judy Bijoux-Leist - 2/20   Cheri Turnquest - 2/20        Jeff Tilson - 2/24   

Click here to tell us the date of your birthday.

Happy Birthday Rammy! Celebrate with Rammy and their other mascot friends!! 💛💜🐏 Friday February 27th 6-8pm in Sykes Student Union

Welcome New Staff 

We are pleased to welcome Amy Blue-Lateef to WCU and Student Health Services as our Part Time 12-Month Office Assistant who started on 1/5/26! Amy is originally from central PA and now resides in West Chester where she raises her 2 boys with her husband, Jarama. Rango is their family dog. Amy has worked as a case manager, administrative assistant, and office manager in various industries, including a medical office. She most recently served as a job trainer with young adults. Amy earned a Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts & Sciences at Penn State University and her Master’s in Social Work at Marywood University. During her free time, she enjoys riding horses and traveling the trails in Chester County. She volunteers with the Kati Mac Education Foundation, Thorncroft Therapeutic Riding Stable, and the PA Special Olympics. Amy can be reached at ABlue-Lateef246@wcupa.edu, phone 610-436-2509, or visiting the front reception at Student Health Services.

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Student Experience Marketing Manager Announcement: Kelsey Frank has been selected as our new Student Experience Marketing Manager. Kelsey previously served as Assistant Director of Student Experience and, most recently, as Interim Associate Director, stepping in to lead parent and family engagement efforts through the divisional refresh. Beginning her WCU journey as an HEPSA student, Kelsey has been part of the WCU community since 2017 and is currently in the EdD program. Kelsey exudes a deep commitment to the student experience, and her passion for the division's values of connection, engagement, and belonging made her an excellent fit for this new position in the division. In her new role, Kelsey will lead the marketing and storytelling of the student experience, oversee student and family communication platforms, and continue to strengthen family programming and engagement initiatives. Please join me in congratulating Kelsey! Many thanks to our search committee members, Dr. Lisa Montgomery and Kristin Howley from Marketing and Communications, for their time, insight, and partnership throughout the process.

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Since joining the department in May of 2023 Ace Walker has been a crucial part of our team, not only as the A/V Tech guru but also leading our student staff with intention and care. He joined us in a brand-new position, Coordinator for Sykes Union, and took this position to the next level. Starting this year, Ace has been promoted to Assistant Director of Sykes Union and will continue to work with student staffing, operations, and technology! Please join us in congratulating him on this much earned promotion and celebrating his accomplishments! 

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Student Conduct is beyond excited to welcome Maria Turner as our new Office Manager! Maria has been an incredible contributor to West Chester University since 2018, bringing a wealth of knowledge and positivity from her previous role in the Office of New Student Programs. A proud Golden Ram with a BS in Psychology from WCU, Maria is deeply committed to creating a caring, supportive, and student‑centered experience.  In her role as Office Manager for the Office of Student Conduct, Maria will lead the charge in managing communications, maintaining FERPA‑compliant student records, overseeing sanction and academic hold processes, coordinating meetings and trainings, supporting budget and payroll operations, responding to campus and community information requests, and preparing official conduct policies and publications that uphold timely resolution and institutional accountability. A lifelong resident of West Chester, Maria already feels right at home—and we are thrilled to have her talent, energy, and Ram Pride on our team!

Position Openings:

• Assistant Director of Student Experience

Office of Wellness Promotion - Allyship in Recovery Training
There are two training in two opportunities this semester to learn about how to support students in recovery, seeking to be in recovery, and sober-curious students. Trainings open to students, faculty, and staff. Register for Allyship in Recovery by clicking here. 

The Office of Student Engagement is now accepting applications for the Leadership Consultant (LC) team for the 2026–2027 academic year.  Encourage any interested students to apply! Leadership Consultants support campus engagement by mentoring student organization leaders, promoting leadership development, and planning engaging and impactful programs. LCs work approximately 10 hours per week and are paid hourly. The application, including essential requirements and preferred qualifications, can be found The Leadership Consultant application, including essential requirements and preferred qualifications, can be found here. Applications will be open on RamConnect until Friday, February 27th at 11:59 PM.

Congratulations to this Year's 1871 Award Recipients!

Many thanks to all the Student Affairs members who encouraged students to apply, provided letters of recommendation, and offered a multitude of leadership and community engagement opportunities for our students. Learn more about the 1871 Award and find a full list of recipients here.

Support the WCU Day of Giving!

The WCU Day of Giving is coming up on March 5.

Keep an eye out on your email for detailed information about how you can support the effort!

WCU Receives 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification

West Chester University has been selected to receive the 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, a national designation that recognizes institutions for their commitment to community engagement and partnerships. Read more about the Carnegie Community Engagement designation here.
 

Curricular Implementation Team

Greetings from the CIT! Since our January DOSA Retreat, the CIT has been hard at work, continuing to bring our new divisional curriculum to life, in large part thanks to the excellent ideas and thinking shared by all of you. Thank you all for your attention and engagement with Dr. Lemmons and the curricular approach work. In the spirit of transparency, we wanted to share a brief update on our progress and what you can expect this semester:

1. We have identified Seligman's PERMA model, grounded in positive psychology, as a theoretical foundation for developing learning outcomes to align with the model's components of well-being and flourishing: Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning & Accomplishment. Our resident expert, Dr. B.K. Taylor, will present on PERMA at our divisional meeting on 2/26, so we all have familiarity with the framework to guide our work.
2. The CIT has decided to simplify our goal themes as a result of feedback for succinctness and ease of recall. Our divisional learning goals have been essentialized to the following: Community, Relationships, Responsibility, and Experiential Learning.
3. As a result of the Division's excellent work and brainstorming of learning outcomes at the January retreat, the CIT has synthesized and drafted a set of divisional learning outcomes for our four learning goals. We are eager for the next round of your feedback and will assign each department a learning goal and set of learning outcomes to review using an assessment form.
4. After we receive feedback from departments about our learning outcomes, we will solidify our divisional learning outcomes and move into the exciting work of developing educational plans by department. The CIT will support you throughout this process! Thank you again for your continued engagement!

If you have any questions or want to learn more, please feel free to reach out to any member of the Curricular Implementation Team: Lexie McCarthy, Ashley Lillie, Jayme Trogus, Catie Baxter, Adriane Reilly, Barrett McGee, and Brett Buckridge

News from the H&W Home Office!
As we roll into spring semester, we wanted to remind you of our three services, referral forms, how to get training from our team. Please see below the links to our information and some data highlights!

• CARE Team
• Absence Notifications
• Financial Support Request Form

A huge congratulations to our Fraternity & Sorority Life community for an incredible recruitment season! This semester marks the strongest new member growth we’ve seen since the pre-COVID era. In 2020, 478 students participated in recruitment with approximately 382 new members joining. From 2021–2025, the average was between 220–250 new members each year. This year?

• 377 students participated in recruitment
• 295 bids were extended
• Approximately 315 new Panhellenic members have already joined, with the IFC, NPHC and MGC numbers still coming in!

This is a significant and exciting rebound for our FSL community — a testament to intentional advising, strong student leadership, and the power of belonging. Thank you to the staff, chapter leaders, and campus partners who helped make this growth possible!

Getting to awesome together, indeed!