What I do
As the dean of the Honors College, I serve as the academic, co-curricular, student affairs, and residential leader of the overall honors experience for our nearly 2,000 current students and our alumni-and-friends communities. I also serve as a Faculty Fellow in Residence, living in the college's central building at 5 Seminary Place (College Ave. Campus), providing programs, events, mentoring, and social engagement for all of our first-year students. And I am a faculty affiliate in the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, where I also serve on the executive board.
Favorite Memory
My first year here, I bonded with a group of about 25 students (who are now juniors) who all hung out together in the East Lounge (I call them "The East Loungers") and have watched them become a complete network of personal and academic support for each other—true friends. And I have been lucky enough to be included in their meals, their birthday parties, holiday events, summer visits, city travels and more. Their bonds are something special to behold and are as impressive a collection of friends as I've ever seen in my 30+ years in higher and secondary education.
Fun Fact
I live in 5 Seminary Place as a Faculty Fellow, but I don't live alone. I share my residence with Makai, an 18-month-old Bernese Mountain dog weighing in at about 110 lbs and 32" tall at his shoulders. I rescued him when he was three months. He serves as an unofficial community-relations ambassador, visiting with students in the evenings, attending Honors College events, and giving students a feeling of being in a diverse and real community. He even helps those students who are leery about or unfamiliar with dogs to learn about how to recognize dog behaviors and intentions, and how goofy some dogs can be.
FULL SOURCE: Rutgers | J.D. Bowers, Dean and Resident Dog Dad