Seven years ago, Jeff Braden, Dean of College of Humanities and Social Sciences had the idea to start a new tradition at NC State where the dean would trade places with a student so they could each have a taste of what a typical day is on the other side of the age and administrative gap that divides students and faculty.
“When I became dean and stopped teaching, I lost contact with the students, and so I thought I really want to have that opportunity because even though I was an undergraduate, that was over 40 years ago at a very different institution,” Braden said. “I want to get to know what they do, and I want for them to know what I do.”
On Tuesday, Braden switched places with Courtney Ross, a senior studying political science and communication and member of Kappa Alpha Theta.
Ross got to meet with department heads, attend a THINK Initiative meeting and sit in on a faculty senate meeting. Meanwhile, Braden went to a Kappa Alpha Theta meeting, a nonprofit class and a communication class.
“It’s the best day of the year for me,” Braden said. “I love it because I get to be an undergraduate all over again. I get to take classes I’ve never had before from instructors I know in one way as a dean, but man when I see what our people do — they love what they do. It’s inspiring. I love it.”
Braden also said that while he isn’t really surprised, he is always amazed at how passionate his faculty is about what they do. He said he learns so much during the day but also finds out new things that he has yet to learn.
Ross said there were two major reasons for her wanting to be the dean for a day: She wanted to see the administrative side of college and for her dean to see what her life as a student is like.
Ross said she was surprised by how many faculty members it takes to run the college.
She also wanted him to spend time with Kappa Alpha Theta because she considers it an important part of her life, and without it she would not be the person and leader she is today.
“Greek organizations tend to have a bad reputation,” Ross said. “When something goes wrong, it blows up in the media, and that is all they focus on. And organizations like Theta, we do a lot of good for the community, but that’s never highlighted. So I wanted Dean Braden to experience that and see how much we put into our organization and how much we get out of it.”
Braden said he was very impressed when he attended the Kappa Alpha Theta scholarship meeting. He said this meeting was about how the sorority wanted to improve and motivate the sisters to have higher GPAs.
“The biggest thing that stood out for me was the meeting at the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority,” Braden said. “It really kind of blew up some of the stereotypes I’d heard about Greek life.”
