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Iowa State names new dean of students

Jan. 5, 2017 5:17 pm
Iowa State University has chosen its next dean of students and associate vice president - a Baptist pastor in Virginia who has experience working with student development, organizational management, diversity and inclusion, and Title IX policy at the College of William & Mary.
Vernon Hurte, 37, has been with that public research university in Williamsburg, Va., since 2004, currently serving as assistant to the vice president, senior associate dean of students, and director of the Center for Student Diversity.
He also has been pastor of the New Light Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., since 2010.
Iowa State chose Hurte for the dean of students and associate vice president role after conducting a national search that brought four finalists to campus in November and early December.
Making an annual salary of $173,000, Hurte will join the campus - bringing his wife and two children with him - on July 3. He succeeds Pamela Anthony, who left Iowa State one year ago after accepting the vice president position at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
ISU Associate Dean of Students Keith Robinder has been serving in the interim role.
Once Hurte arrives, he'll report to the Office of the Senior Vice President for Student Affairs. His position was elevated to the associate vice president level as part of a new student affairs leadership structure announced after former Vice President Warren Madden retired last summer.
He will lead the following units under the Dean of Students Office: Academic Success Center; Greek Affairs; Hixson Awards; International Students and Scholars; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Student Services; Margaret Sloss Women's Center; Multicultural Student Affairs; National Student Exchange; Student Assistance and Outreach; Student Conduct; Student Disability Resources; Student Legal Services; and Writing and Media Center.
At the College of William & Mary, Hurte supervises strategic planning, assessment, and outreach for student success in the Division of Student Affairs - which includes departments in the Dean of Students Office, the Center for Student Diversity, and a peer-based resource center for students impacted by sexual violence, harassment, and gender-based discrimination.
He holds a master's degree in divinity from Virginia Union University and a doctorate in education with a concentration in human learning and development from the University of Tennessee.
Hurte told The Gazette he learned about the Iowa State job from the firm conducting its search, and he was excited about where the university seems to be headed.
'I really felt as though the commitment to being a great public university very much aligns with my values and commitments, as it relates to higher education,” he said.
And, Hurte said, after visiting the campus, 'I just really fell in love with the students.”
'Iowa State has very passionate and very intelligent students that clearly have a real desire to have a positive impact,” he said.
Addressing challenges around diversity and inclusion that campuses across the country are facing right now, Hurte said he has experience finding the balance between creating a space where all students feel welcome and supporting the academic mission.
'The university should be a place where we're able to really wrestle with various different ideas but be able to do that in a very civil and respectful way,” he said. 'That is a challenge that every university continues to wrestle with and certainly is one I have worked through in my career.”
Hurte said he does not plan to continue pastoring once he arrives in Iowa.
'I will be concluding my pastoral tenure and coming to focus on being the associate vice president and dean of students at Iowa State,” he said.
ISU Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Martino Harmon said Hurte's background and experience makes him an 'outstanding fit” for the campus.
'His ability to connect with students and his experience with diversity and inclusion will make him an invaluable member of our leadership team,” Harmon said in a statement.
l Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com
Vernon Hurte has been named associate vice president and dean of students at Iowa State. He will join the campus July 3. (Credit: Iowa State University)