Jess Carron Appointed to Serve National Role for Student Conduct Professionals
Catch up with Jess Carron in the following Q&A on her new role and her recommendations for staff and faculty interested in supporting student rights and responsibilities.
What are your goals and responsibilities as the new Region I Co-Chair for the Association of Student Conduct Administration?
The primary responsibilities of my role are identifying potential membership for leadership within the region, monitoring and communicating regional trends, maintaining regular communication updates with region members, and facilitating peer learning and networking opportunities.
I chose to apply for this role in order to build stronger connections with my colleagues at other institutions, and to hopefully grow more meaningful connections between my colleagues, as well. I am particularly excited to host in-person opportunities for our region at the national ASCA conference, which will be here in Portland for the next two years.
Are there any new developments within the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities?
Our office has been doing a lot of work with the Office of Health Promotion & Wellness to increase alcohol and drug prevention education in this coming academic year. Our hope is to have productive and realistic conversations about alcohol and drug use that helps students understand the effects of substance use, and to make personal choices that fit their values and keep them safe. I am hiring two graduate assistants this year, and I have built prevention education into their job description to help meet this goal.
How does your office support Lewis & Clark employees to advocate for the rights and responsibilities of our students?
Employees are always encouraged to reach out if they are concerned about a student or their behavior on campus. You can fill out a formal report, and I’m happy to talk on the phone about ways you can address concerns directly or support a student in addressing their own concerns. Beyond this, let our office know if you are interested in getting involved in feedback processes for student rights on campus. This year a committee of students and a committee of staff have participated in a full code of conduct review, and that’s a great example of how you can make an impact on student rights. If you have ideas about processes, policies, or practices on campus, our office would love to be involved.
What are you most looking forward to for this upcoming academic year?
Tying back into my role in the Association of Student Conduct Administration, I am looking forward to this opportunity to connect with more colleagues and bring back ideas they have about student accountability and student conflict. This will be my sixth year on campus, and I really enjoy changing things up for the better.
