Caption: Ross has spearheaded initiatives in student affairs and well-being across various areas across campus. Photo courtesy of Butler University. 

LEAH OLLIE | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | lollie@butler.edu 

University President James Danko announced the departure of Dr. Frank Ross III, former vice president for student affairs, in an email on Oct. 21 to the campus community. Danko shared that Dr. Khalilah Marbury would be stepping into the new combined position of Vice President for DEI & Student Affairs effective Nov. 1. This transition follows restructuring of the Student Affairs division to include the new Office of Student Experience and Engagement, and long-term investment in enhancing student experience and retention across the university. 

Since Ross’ hiring in April 2017, Butler University has changed significantly, as have the needs of its students. Students have faced the challenges of a new era of education following a global pandemic, and Butler administration have been put to the task of evolving to meet student needs in innovative ways. As Butler has evolved to preserve its traditional liberal arts values while developing new programs and initiatives, Ross has supervised collaborative efforts to enhance the overall student experience for Bulldogs. 

Following an extensive career in higher education and student affairs at prior institutions, Ross benefited Butler with his history of supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives and a passion for building new programs. The Butler Collegian caught up with Ross over email to reflect upon the accomplishments and lessons that have hallmarked his seven-year tenure at Butler.

THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN: What led you to make the decision to leave your position at Butler to take steps into your next chapter?  

FRANK ROSS: My family and I decided it was the right time to pursue our next chapter, especially as our son will be finishing elementary school and we want a successful transition for him to middle school next year. At the same time, we are finishing the university’s Butler Beyond strategic plan that I helped to develop. We are [also] completing our student affairs strategic plan. So the months ahead will be filled with planning for Butler’s future with work toward the new strategic plan. It is a good time for new leadership and new ideas to help plan the next great chapter for our beloved university.

TBC: What have been some of your proudest accomplishments during your tenure as Vice President for Student Affairs?

FR: I am so proud of the work that happens every day by the amazing Student Affairs team on this campus. During my leadership here, we expanded the collaborations across campus and [have] taken a data-informed approach to enhancing the student experience. 

Some of the specific accomplishments I am so proud of include [a] significant focus on student health and well-being as a campus priority — we launched BUBeWell in 2018, expanded mental health support for students, including adding new staff to the counseling center, launched our therapy dog program, added teletherapy options for students, and we launched mental health first aid training. 

I have been engaged in fundraising and we have established the Fund to Support Student Mental Health and I am so grateful for the many alumni and family members who have come alongside us with philanthropic support for student well-being.

I am proud of the efforts across Student Affairs to keep our students safe during the pandemic — from housing and dining to health services, to campus activities, mental health support, move-in weekend and fraternity and sorority recruitment. I am so very proud of the work of everyone in Student Affairs to pivot quickly and reconceptualize our work to ensure we were supporting our students and each other during an incredibly difficult time.

We saw great efforts across Student Affairs to support a more intentionally inclusive campus community. I launched the university’s first campus climate survey in 2019. Under my leadership, we developed a bias response process, expanded staffing in the Efroymson Diversity Center and implemented required DEI training as part of new student Orientation.

I am very proud of the work we have done in campus activities, and we have seen significant growth in the number of student organizations. During my time at Butler, we developed the University Program Council, the Diversity Program Council and the Civic Engagement Program Council — all of which have greatly expanded co-curricular programming for students. I have been a champion for our fraternity and sorority community, and I am very proud of the increased support we have been able to provide that community, including growth of our Alpha Chapter [of Sigma Gamma Rho] and the greater visibility of our city-wide National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations on campus.

We have seen significant improvements to student facilities during my time here. We built Irvington House — and that ribbon cutting ceremony was such an amazing memory — and did a massive renovation to ResCo. We renovated and expanded campus dining locations, including Plum Market. We built a state-of-the-art Esports Park and opened the Commuter Student Center. Through collaboration with SGA, we have seen significant enhancements to Atherton Union.

I am also very proud that we enhanced student support in many ways. During the pandemic, we established the Butler Food Pantry. We expanded our sexual assault response and prevention efforts, increased support for first-generation students and opened the Office of Student Advocacy. We also expanded health services to support students’ reproductive and sexual health.

 TBC: Are there any areas of your work that you wish you would have explored more or expanded upon? If you could “begin again” at the start of your tenure at Butler, would you do anything differently?

FR: I feel very happy with the work we did during my time at Butler. We established a collaborative strategic plan in student affairs that guided our work, and our team had incredible results. We worked hard to improve the student experience on campus and I am so very proud of everything we accomplished. Every day is a learning lesson, and as a reflective person, I always think about what we did, and how we can improve. That’s what it is all about —  continuous improvement. So I am very grateful for the work over these past eight years. If I had to do something differently, I would have tried the amazing Resco bowls sooner — and bought those blue and white striped [overalls] in the bookstore earlier. 

TBC: How do you see Student Affairs at Butler evolving in the future following your departure?

FR: One thing that won’t change is Student Affairs’ strong commitment to our students. There is excellent leadership in place, and the team will continue to evolve to meet the future needs of students to help them grow, develop and be the best version of themselves.

TBC: In your next steps, what lessons from Butler will you take with you? 

FR: I will take with me the importance of relationships. Butler is such a relationship-rich campus and the people and our interactions with each other are key. I will also take with me the importance of well-being and taking care of yourself. And of course, there is no place like Butler.  I will take with me amazing gratitude for the students and the lessons they taught me. I will always proudly be a Bulldog. 

This interview was edited for clarity and Collegian style guidelines.