Jamele Adam's promotion to dean of students brings exciting prospects for a community that has embraced him as the associate dean of student life and the Assistant dean of student life for the past nine years. The Justice sat down with Dean Adams to discuss what he values about the Brandeis community and what he hopes to achieve in the coming years.

What does the dean of students do?
The dean of students listens to the students, listens to the folks that are on the team. I have the honor of listening and making sure that the University is meeting the expectations of the students and vice versa.

How is that different from your previous position?
Now I'll listen to even more people.

What are you excited about with this new position?
I'm filled with all kinds of humility and fire for all the possibilities that exist. I thoroughly appreciate all that has been laid out before me. The foundation of Student Affairs and the folks that are in all the functional areas of the family that is Student Affairs is fantastic. It's the relationship between the students and all of the folks at the University that makes what I do such a joy, such a pleasure. We are all in it together. We have the honor of remembering that you all, the students, are the reason why we are here. We have the pleasure of being part of the journey of the students, to the effect that we can make their journey as magical and wonderful as possible is awesome, even in times of challenge, as well as times of triumph.

Do you have any goals for this upcoming semester or in the future?
I really want to make sure that we fly and that we have an incredible experience together, and I just want to continue to build on the foundation that is already in place. What's here is great, so I don't want to injure that greatness, I want to nurture it.

How do your poetry and your role as an administrator work together?
It's interesting that the students, you all, made it possible for those pieces of who I am to coexist. To the effect that they can assist the experience that the students have, can contribute to the educational journey that students take, I will continue to allow them to coexist. If it ever becomes intrusive, or not something that is helpful in the journey and experience of Brandeis students, then I won't. Students are usually the reason I use poetry; it's because a student made a suggestion or they thought it might be a complement to what they already put together.

What do you think is the big draw to the Brandeis community?
It is as unique as each individual here is. Every individual in this campus is unique. I think that makes for such an experience where, again, the hope is that everyone here can feel like this is their home. I want it to be a place where we have no second class citizens. I want it to be a place where everyone feels the love of the University. Not that many places have that significant piece, the cornerstone of the University is social justice and we recognize the imperfect and recognize our imperfections, and being willing to work through those imperfections is more of a draw.

How do you plan to make sure that incoming students who haven't experienced the community yet know what it's all about?
I will continue to advocate and promote involvement with everything that begins at orientation and continues through the work of the Community Advisors and Roosevelt Fellows and Excel fellows and all of the student organizations on campus. The folks that complement what happens in the classroom and the Student Affairs function areas, those folks will continue to do so into the wee hours of the morning, throughout programming and any moments that demand such. I think that the continual recognition and promoting of using all the resources that are here is how folks will continue to find that we are all together. There shouldn't be anyone who feels that they don't have anyone they can turn to, they don't have any resources that aren't there for them, because we are all there for each other. In the truest sense of the word, having a Brandeis family.

Many people consider you to be one of the most inspiring members of the Brandeis community. From where do you derive your inspiration?
The people around me. You all. When I have conversations with students, it moves me. I listen, I genuinely listen. I don't take my role on campus for granted. I don't take people's attention spans for granted. I don't take the fact that the students here believe in us for granted. We all value that, I value that. To the point that I can remind folks it matters, I will continue to do that. My motivation is the folks around us: my family, the students, the experiences that happen on campus. The knowledge that someone is allowing me to play a part in their journey for life.

What do you think is the most moving or inspiring experience that you've had so far at Brandeis?
There isn't just one. Every day, daily, I'm moved by the students, I really am moved. Sometimes the smallest statement or event is moving. I constantly stay aware of all that's going on around me, and it does move me. It influences me. It motivates me. I genuinely am moved every day by the students, I really am. We owe it to just be reciprocal in that energy and the sharing of that love.


- Marissa Ditkowsky