@KarenGrossEdu From 2006-2014, she was President of Southern Vermont College, then a small, private, affordable, 4-year college located in VT. The College offered a career-launching education with a liberal arts core. The College enrolled many first generation, low-income Pell eligible students and was committed to student access and success. From 2011-2013, she served (part and full time) as Senior Policy Advisor to the US Department of Education in Washington, DC. Prior to becoming a college president, she was a tenured law professor for 22 years, where her academic areas of expertise included consumer finance, over-indebtedness and community economic development.
Dr. Mike Robinson: How critical, in your opinion, is quality housing infrastructure on a college campus?
Karen Gross: The quality of housing varies dramatically from campus to campus. Some campuses have older dorms (in style and in amenities), and others have state-of-the-art living facilities. Many campuses have poorly constructed dorms, often lacking in quality soundproofing and quality heat retention.
For me, while infrastructure matters (and assuming there are no fire or other similar risks), the way rooms are configured is critical. The idea of long hallways and bathrooms at the end of the rows of rooms and no shared congregating space are bad news; the key is dedicated space that enables students to engage with each other. Dorms (residential halls) that facilitate isolation are poor choices.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What role does housing play in the areas of student recruitment and retention?
Karen Gross: I think most students select colleges without much thought to the quality of residential halls. It may matter more to parents! For students, quality of food, access to a car and parking, a good student center, an inviting student center, and quality athletics and wellness space are key. One thing that does matter to students is the access to the housing available to the main campus; few students want to live miles from campus and feel out of the mainstream or need to take a bus or car or bike to campus each day.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What is the typical process for the upkeep of dorms when students are away and when school is in session?
Karen Gross: The upkeep of dorms is highly dependent on the institution. And Covid will be another factor. Most campuses have garbage pickup and cleaning of common areas and bathrooms used by many students. Few campuses have individuals who clean rooms themselves, although cleaning supplies and vacuums are often available. In truth, most rooms are a mess, especially since students bring food back.
Maintenance of residential halls is a key effort during summer and other periods of non-residency. Lots of effort goes into cleaning carpets and bathrooms, painting, and repairing student caused damages. Indeed, dorm maintenance can be a summer job for some students. For schools with summer residency, it is tough to manage cleaning and repair. The goal: starting each semester with habitable dorms.
Dr. Mike Robinson: If parents reported to you that dorms were not clean, there was mold, chipped paint, doors hanging off their hinges, doors that could not lock, floors not mopped, and appliances not working, how would you address these issues, and what assurance would you offer parents and students this would not reoccur?
Karen Gross: Many complaints about dorms do land eventually on the president’s desk. Since I had an open door and allowed parents to reach me directly, I did hear about dorm disrepair sooner rather than later. And I had a tradition called “cookie delivery” where the Dean of Students and I visited every single room on campus in the first week of school — delivering cookies and noting needed repairs on our own and as shared by students. And those repairs were made!
Were I notified of the issues of disrepair you describe, I’d immediately call together the Dean of Students, the Director of Residential Life and Director of Facilities. I would share the concerns and ask for an immediate remediation plan and a report back. Then I would share the plan with the complaining parent/students and follow up, sometimes personally checking on the repair. Nothing like the college president checking to see if a moldy shower curtain has been replaced!
Karen Gross is an educator and author, writing books for both children (early-childhood through Grade 6) and adults. Her Lady Lucy Series is well-known and has been read to over 3000 children across the globe.
Her newest adult book, released in June 2020 from Columbia Teachers College Press, is titled Trauma Doesn’t Stop at the School Door: Strategies and Solutions for Educators, Pre-K through College. This book is a sidequel to her earlier book Breakaway Learners (Teachers College Press 2017). She also speaks, advises and consults nationally and internationally on trauma, student success, improving educational leadership and handling educational crises. To that end, she serves as Senior Counsel to Finn Partners.
She’s also an author in residence at Molly Stark Elementary School in VT. In 2018, she was a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia in Canada. She’s an Affiliate of the Rutgers Center for MSIs and is continuing education instructor in the trauma certification program at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Social Work. She will be visiting faculty at College Unbound in 2021. Many auxiliary teaching tools based on her school resource books and courses are available on this website.
Speaking audiences include EACUBO, NEASC, Yes We Must Coalition, Global Forum on Girls, CASE, CCME, and National Conf. on Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools. She writes/blogs for a variety of publications including NEJHE, Hechinger Report, LinkedIn, Medium, Age of Awareness, Diverse, BBNTimes and IHE.
Dr. Mike Robinson: How critical, in your opinion, is quality housing infrastructure on a college campus?
Karen Gross: The quality of housing varies dramatically from campus to campus. Some campuses have older dorms (in style and in amenities), and others have state-of-the-art living facilities. Many campuses have poorly constructed dorms, often lacking in quality soundproofing and quality heat retention.
For me, while infrastructure matters (and assuming there are no fire or other similar risks), the way rooms are configured is critical. The idea of long hallways and bathrooms at the end of the rows of rooms and no shared congregating space are bad news; the key is dedicated space that enables students to engage with each other. Dorms (residential halls) that facilitate isolation are poor choices.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What role does housing play in the areas of student recruitment and retention?
Karen Gross: I think most students select colleges without much thought to the quality of residential halls. It may matter more to parents! For students, quality of food, access to a car and parking, a good student center, an inviting student center, and quality athletics and wellness space are key. One thing that does matter to students is the access to the housing available to the main campus; few students want to live miles from campus and feel out of the mainstream or need to take a bus or car or bike to campus each day.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What is the typical process for the upkeep of dorms when students are away and when school is in session?
Karen Gross: The upkeep of dorms is highly dependent on the institution. And Covid will be another factor. Most campuses have garbage pickup and cleaning of common areas and bathrooms used by many students. Few campuses have individuals who clean rooms themselves, although cleaning supplies and vacuums are often available. In truth, most rooms are a mess, especially since students bring food back.
Maintenance of residential halls is a key effort during summer and other periods of non-residency. Lots of effort goes into cleaning carpets and bathrooms, painting, and repairing student caused damages. Indeed, dorm maintenance can be a summer job for some students. For schools with summer residency, it is tough to manage cleaning and repair. The goal: starting each semester with habitable dorms.
Dr. Mike Robinson: If parents reported to you that dorms were not clean, there was mold, chipped paint, doors hanging off their hinges, doors that could not lock, floors not mopped, and appliances not working, how would you address these issues, and what assurance would you offer parents and students this would not reoccur?
Karen Gross: Many complaints about dorms do land eventually on the president’s desk. Since I had an open door and allowed parents to reach me directly, I did hear about dorm disrepair sooner rather than later. And I had a tradition called “cookie delivery” where the Dean of Students and I visited every single room on campus in the first week of school — delivering cookies and noting needed repairs on our own and as shared by students. And those repairs were made!
Were I notified of the issues of disrepair you describe, I’d immediately call together the Dean of Students, the Director of Residential Life and Director of Facilities. I would share the concerns and ask for an immediate remediation plan and a report back. Then I would share the plan with the complaining parent/students and follow up, sometimes personally checking on the repair. Nothing like the college president checking to see if a moldy shower curtain has been replaced!
Karen Gross is an educator and author, writing books for both children (early-childhood through Grade 6) and adults. Her Lady Lucy Series is well-known and has been read to over 3000 children across the globe.
Her newest adult book, released in June 2020 from Columbia Teachers College Press, is titled Trauma Doesn’t Stop at the School Door: Strategies and Solutions for Educators, Pre-K through College. This book is a sidequel to her earlier book Breakaway Learners (Teachers College Press 2017). She also speaks, advises and consults nationally and internationally on trauma, student success, improving educational leadership and handling educational crises. To that end, she serves as Senior Counsel to Finn Partners.
She’s also an author in residence at Molly Stark Elementary School in VT. In 2018, she was a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia in Canada. She’s an Affiliate of the Rutgers Center for MSIs and is continuing education instructor in the trauma certification program at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Social Work. She will be visiting faculty at College Unbound in 2021. Many auxiliary teaching tools based on her school resource books and courses are available on this website.
Speaking audiences include EACUBO, NEASC, Yes We Must Coalition, Global Forum on Girls, CASE, CCME, and National Conf. on Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools. She writes/blogs for a variety of publications including NEJHE, Hechinger Report, LinkedIn, Medium, Age of Awareness, Diverse, BBNTimes and IHE.