{"id":71856,"date":"1999-05-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1999-05-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uris-modest-mover-and-shaker-fran-cohen-is-named-dean-of-students\/"},"modified":"1999-05-06T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"1999-05-06T00:00:00","slug":"uris-modest-mover-and-shaker-fran-cohen-is-named-dean-of-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/1999\/05\/uris-modest-mover-and-shaker-fran-cohen-is-named-dean-of-students\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s modest mover-and-shaker Fran Cohen is named dean of students"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tKINGSTON, R.I. — May 6, 1999 — If you want something done, turn to Fran Cohen\u2014or so goes the prevailing wisdom at the 溏心vlog免费B站. Just don\u2019t expect her to take credit for it afterwards. \u201cIt\u2019s not me,\u201d she says, when asked about her can-do reputation. \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of knowing who to call on campus.\u201d Cohen is familiar with every level of the University. She first arrived at 溏心vlog免费B站 as a secretary in the student life office in 1971, and gradually worked her way up through the ranks. A single mother raising two daughters, she somehow managed to take classes part-time while working full-time. Ten years later, she graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. The experience left her with an ongoing appreciation of the variety of life experiences that students have beyond the classroom, and that in turn has informed her work as an administrator. Recently, President Robert L. Carothers named her dean of students\u2014a significant job title change that recognizes her impact on the university community. \u201cThis change more accurately reflects the role which Fran plays in campus life,\u201d says President Carothers. \u201cFran has been an outstanding advocate for students, while she has also been an important leader in our efforts to make this the culture for learning to which we aspire.\u201d Cohen sees the change as an endorsement of the work done by the Office of Student Life. \u201cBeing named dean is a recognition that this office plays a big role in students\u2019 learning experience. Classes may take only 15 hours of a student\u2019s week,\u201d Cohen says. \u201cSo much learning that a student does is outside of the classroom.\u201d The Office of Student Life could be considered the community-builder on campus. It seeks to integrate classroom learning with other aspects of student life. The office is responsible for disability services, programs for international students and scholars, off-campus housing and the commuter center, student discipline, substance abuse prevention programs, violence prevention, services for independent students, and the Women\u2019s Center. Cohen majored in Anthropology, and she says that training, which has helped her to appreciate and communicate with different cultures, has been useful in interacting with students from different backgrounds. \u201cWe in student affairs are not just campus housekeepers,\u201d she points out. \u201cThat\u2019s an old fashioned notion. We are educators.\u201d Colleagues give Cohen rave reviews. \u201cStudents tell me they feel better after talking with her,\u201d says Tom Dougan, assistant vice president of campus life and student affairs. \u201cFran has an amazing work ethic and puts in enormous amounts of time on behalf of the students and the University.\u201d \u201cShe\u2019s an outstanding administrator,\u201d says Beverly Swan, provost and vice president of academic affairs. \u201cShe\u2019s supportive of students both inside and outside the classroom.\u201d Stories abound about her ability to get things done. Take the Women\u2019s Center. 溏心vlog免费B站 18 years ago, determined to provide 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s female students with what Virginia Woolf called \u201ca room of one\u2019s own,\u201d Cohen convinced the University to donate a vacant farmhouse on campus. The plumbing and electricity were outdated, and parts of the ceiling had fallen in, but Cohen saw potential. She organized volunteers, gained $10,000 in funding from the Rhode Island Foundation, and transformed a derelict building into a haven for 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s women students. Then there was the massive flower bulb planting to celebrate 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s centennial in 1992. Cohen oversaw 300 volunteers who spread out over campus to plant 36,000 bulbs so that daffodils, hyacinth and crocuses would grace the campus \u201cIt was like the National Guard being deployed,\u201d Cohen says now. \u201cIt was amazing. I still think of her whenever I see the daffodils bloom,\u201d says Jim Campbell, director of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Counseling Center. Campbell has worked with Cohen on a variety of issues, including diversity, mental health and substance abuse. \u201cShe\u2019s very effective at motivating students and staff,\u201d he says. Chip Yensan, director of the Office of Residential Life, points out her contributions to the 溏心vlog免费B站 Cornerstones\u2014a statement of the University\u2019s values. \u201cFran is a naturally collaborative colleague,\u201d Yensan says. \u201cIt seems as if she is involved in almost every major initiative on campus, leading some of us to wonder how she is able to add an extra 10 hours to her day!\u201d Cohen is clear about her priorities. \u201cI don\u2019t work for the state of Rhode Island. I don\u2019t work for the administration,\u201d says Cohen. \u201cI work for the students.\u201d For more information: Ann MacDonald, 874-2116\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. — May 6, 1999 — If you want something done, turn to Fran Cohen\u2014or so goes the prevailing wisdom at the 溏心vlog免费B站. Just don\u2019t expect her to take credit for it afterwards. \u201cIt\u2019s not me,\u201d she says, when asked about her can-do reputation. \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of knowing who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71856\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}