Every student who comes through the doors of Pennsylvania College of Art & Design has a touchpoint with Student Life. Even if you’re a commuter or not living in student housing, you have the opportunity to be impacted by the activities, clubs, and both everyday and special-event outreach of this department. 

But have you ever wondered who does what, how to reach out with questions, or how you yourself can make an impact in this department (and yes, there’s room for that, too!)? We reached out to members of the Student Life team to hear directly from team members not only about how they affect day-to-day life at PCA&D, but also about how their passion lies with making a daily impact on the students of the College. 

Linda King Brown
Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Students

As Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Students, how would you define your role within the department?

The Dean of Students serves as the leader of the Student Life division, overseeing residence life, student engagement, student success, student governance, and student support. Under the supervision of the Vice President of Academic Affairs and together with the Associate Dean of Student Life, Student Success Advisor, and Student Engagement Coordinator, the dean helps to create and support purposeful programming and co-curricular activities that support a sense of belonging for all students. The dean also provides guidance for the division’s work to build and preserve equity and inclusion in the PCA&D community and to ensure accessibility within the learning environment and access to resources that promote civic responsibility, safety, and health and wellness.

Is it possible to summarize your day-to-day duties? Or is every day a different experience?

Every day is a little bit different depending on the ebb and flow of the academic year, but my day-to-day duties include managing and supporting the activities and responsibilities of the division. For example, during the first few weeks of the Fall 2024 semester, I met with students requesting academic accommodations and communicated with faculty about the students’ efforts to authorize and activate the accommodations listed in their letters. I also meet often with the Student Life team members to support their initiatives and responsibilities. This includes budget oversight and short- and long-term strategic planning for the division. As a member of the Executive Cabinet, my role is also to communicate with the College’s senior leadership on the division’s behalf and provide guidance to the team throughout the year.

Finally, I lead the College’s CPR (Completion-Persistence-Retention) team, made up of staff and faculty from both the Student Life and Academic Affairs divisions. Along with my colleagues on the CPR team, we receive confidential reports from faculty and staff who identify students at-risk for not persisting in their courses or struggling personally or academically. One of my main roles leading the CPR team, along with the Associate Dean of Student Life, the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, and the Student Success Advisor, is to be vigilant about identifying ways we can support students holistically, both in and out of the classroom. Following through on that support in a way that respects students’ privacy but also provides clear pathways for them to self-advocate and access resources is always our goal.

What do you find rewarding or fulfilling about your position?

I really like the idea of working with my colleagues to support and engage students so they can have a fulfilling and inspiring experience attending PCA&D, whatever that means to them. I truly enjoy getting to know students as individuals — to really listen to them about what learning experiences, engagement activities, and programming they are looking for and value. I am endlessly inspired by their creativity and drive to find success in their chosen majors and minors, and I like to identify ways to help them curate their education through academic advising, which is another hat I wear as the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs. Being a leader in both the Academic Affairs and Student Life divisions gives me the unique opportunity to offer guidance in a nuanced way that grows organically from my knowledge of how academic and student support systems work in tandem at the College.   

How does your background and how do your interests inform the way you approach your role here at the College?

I often say that you can tell I genuinely love it here at PCA&D because I’ve been here for almost 20 years. In addition to my deep appreciation for creativity in all of its forms, I know my background serving in a variety of roles at the College has allowed me to appreciate from all angles what we are able to do at this small and resilient college. With years of writing professionally and my degrees in English (with an Art History minor) and Journalism in hand, I started as an adjunct professor teaching first-year FVC classes at PCA&D in September of 2005. I was promoted to full-time in the Liberal Arts department in 2009, when I started teaching additional composition and communications classes and humanities electives like Children’s Literature and Poetry. As a side note, I still read and write poetry on my own time and have developed a passion for an artfully written and designed children’s picture book as well as a fascination with the history of children’s literature. My academic research and writing in earlier years centered on the intersection of art and poetry, like the modernist poetry of William Carlos Williams and the avant-garde artists of the early 20th century or the gestural poetry of John Ashbery and the art of the Abstract Expressionists.

I served as the Liberal Arts Department Chair for six years, beginning in 2016, and as the Dean of Faculty beginning in January of 2021. I also served as the faculty trustee on PCA&D’s Board of Trustees for three years, from 2018-2021. In July of 2022, I became the Dean of Faculty & Academic Affairs, and in July of 2024, I also took on the role of Interim Dean of Student Life. This July, I was named the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Dean of Student Life. In my roles as a professor and chairperson, I had the chance to teach art & design students and work alongside the incredible PCA&D faculty for over 15 years.

As I transitioned into my staff role as academic dean, my understanding of the educational process expanded into new areas. Over the years, I’ve been able to build curriculum, develop writing support programming, provide comprehensive academic advising with the registrar’s office, and guide faculty governance systems and accreditation work at the College in collaboration with the Academic Affairs staff. What I see every day is that the staff and faculty at PCA&D are here above all else to support the student learning experience, and this dedication has never changed from all of my viewpoints. I’m also proud to be a part of a collaborative senior leadership team that is driven by our common goals for student achievement and a sense of belonging.

The ways that I have seen PCA&D steadily grow as a College are inspiring, and the opportunities for transformation continue. I respect our history, I honor the strength of what we’ve built together, and I am excited to see what’s next for PCA&D students as we embrace the importance of transdisciplinary education and innovative art & design programs. I bring all of my perspectives of the College to my role as Dean of Students and hope to help build and sustain a strong Student Life division that resonates with all community stakeholders, especially students.

What’s the best way for students to reach out to you?

Students can email me at lbrown@pcad.edu or stop by my office, Room 216 near the Learning Commons. 

CJ Crossett ’14
Associate Dean of Student Life

As Associate Dean of Student Life, how would you define your role within the department?

In many ways, I think my role is often similar in some ways to Student Council in that I’m a voice between the students and administration. I support the department itself in a number of ways through structure, systems, and communications. I also work on larger pan-institutional events like Welcome Week, Friendsgiving, All-School Picnic, and Commencement. I work closely with vendors and partnerships that would act as resources for students like the health insurance plan, food pantry, and meal plans.

Is it possible to summarize your day-to-day duties? Or is every day a different experience?

Every day is a little different! Sometimes I’m working on project planning for large-scale events; other times I’m organizing a campaign to bring awareness to resources we offer; some days it’s filled with internal staff meetings to ensure we’re all on the same page with student needs/concerns; sometimes I’m building handbooks or gathering data for a report; and sometimes it’s filled with planned and impromptu student meetings!  I also serve in the professional staff on-call rotation and work closely on Residence Life needs and initiatives.

What do you find rewarding or fulfilling about your Assistant Dean position?

Working with the students is my favorite part! Whether that’s planning meetings, working on Welcome Week together, or in 1:1 meetings, listening to students’ needs or concerns. 

I also love strategic planning and sort of taking something new, complex, and working it like a puzzle to make it understandable and accessible for everyone included. I’m working with a team of staff on something like this with Campus Responder.

As a 2014 graduate of the College, what changes do you see at PCA&D from your time here as a student?

A ton! There were no residence halls or live-on options as a student; there are new majors and minors; the building itself and use of spaces is different (CoLab used to be the library!), and the school is literally twice the student population it was when I graduated. 

What’s remained the same is the community of people here! Incredibly supportive and want to see you succeed in whatever way that means to you.

What’s the best way for students to reach out to you?

I’m available in all facets! Gchat, my office in the CoLab, via email, through PCA&D Student Life (@pcad_studentlife) on Instagram, or Discord in the Student Council server! I’m also in most club servers, so folks can ping me if needed.

Benjamin Farley ’21
Student Engagement Coordinator

Dana Jain
Student Success Advisor

As Student Success Advisor, how would you define your role within the department? 

As the Student Success Advisor, I collaborate within the Student Life team to create co-curricular opportunities for community awareness and action, identity and belonging, and civic engagement, provide students with the tools and platform to build a vibrant and engaged community through student council, student club infrastructure, and residential communities, empower students to problem-solve challenges within their own community, and provide the infrastructure and associated resources to support student health and wellness. I also participate in on-call responsibilities, the College governance process, assessing program quality, and contributing to PCA&D’s culture of collaboration, interdepartmental support, open and collegial communication, and transparency.

Is it possible to summarize your day-to-day duties? Or is every day a different experience?

While every day looks a little different, my duties revolve around supporting student success, working closely with students and my team. 

Focusing on topics such as time management, community enrichment, health and wellness, and financial literacy, I work closely with students, faculty, staff, and partners to identify critical resources, provide targeted guidance and help to remove boundaries for students when they encounter challenges to their success, and lead strategic initiatives associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion, crisis management systems and resources, and holistic student success programming that supports students’ mental health, physical health, financial health, and persistence.

In a given day, I may be meeting with students to help them develop systems and strategies to overcome barriers and access resources and services, working with the Completion, Persistence, and Retention (CPR) team to support and oversee the collection, tracking, and review of student success indicators, or consulting with the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs to facilitate the academic accommodations process.

What do you find rewarding / fulfilling about your Advisor position?

I started at PCA&D in mid-September, so I’m still fairly new to the role. There is much to love and appreciate about what I do, but I’d have to say the most rewarding thing is the free coffee. Just kidding. It’s the students. 

Today, for example, I got to geek out with a student about William Carlos Williams and witness a student recommit to their education and spend most of the day working in the Learning Commons. I also get to work with an incredible group of people, within Student Life and in the school more broadly, all ultimately dedicated to students’ success.

Access and exposure to different cultures, ideas, and practices such as opportunities to experience speakers like Daryl Davis, exhibits like Monologues of Being Seen, and embodied experiences (like whatever the students are creating with yarn in the halls and entrances), make PCA&D a lively and vibrant place to be and feel comfortable and emboldened to be vulnerable, take risks, make connections, and be willing to fail forward into unfamiliar territory, fuller expression, innovation, transformation. 

How does your background and how do your interests inform the way you approach your role here at the College? 

I’m excited to bring nearly 20 years of rich and diverse experience in education and non-profit leadership to my role as Student Success Advisor. Previously, I’ve held positions as a Restorative Practices Coach at a public city high school, as Director of Academic Affairs for a community of higher education embedded in intentional communities throughout North America, and as a graduate student and faculty at the most diverse campus in the country (according to U.S. News & World Report). 

I hope my extensive experience working with diverse student groups, including first-generation college students, historically marginalized populations (LGBTQ+, BIPOC, undocumented), and students with learning differences, comes through in my presence and interactions as I endeavor to help co-create a space in which students, and all members of the community, feel safe, supported, and seen, and are empowered to achieve and exceed their academic, professional, and personal goals.

Having completed formal education, including an MFA in Creative Writing, published two books (a semi-autobiographical novella and a poetry collection), and taught college courses in English Composition and Creative Writing, I am intimately familiar with the promise and perils of both Academia and The Arts and able to accompany students through the process and help them navigate the system. As a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), Registered Somatic Movement Educator (RSME), and longtime student-practitioner of Healing Arts, I’m eager to continue the important work of implementing holistic trauma-informed, person-centered, restorative practices to effectively engage and support a diverse community of creative learners.

What’s the best way for students to reach out to you?

Ultimately, the best way for students to reach me is by email at djain@pcad.edu, but students are also welcome to stop by my office, Room 214B in the Learning Commons, between 9 am-5 pm to introduce themselves, check in, or chat if I’m available.