The first of four “Open Hours” with President Margee Ensign began on Monday in the Dining Hall. The program, hosted informally with the goal of connecting with students, was announced in a Sept. 6 email sent to the college community. 

On Monday, the event began with Ensign and Dean and Vice President of Student Life George Stroud walking around the cafeteria, checking-in with students at various tables. 

“I really believe it’s so important that a president, a senior leader, is in touch with students,” Ensign said. “It’s just social [right now]. Sometimes it leads to a different discussion later because [students will] see me and think ‘Oh, she’s accessible.’” 

Ensign also shared her email address with students and encouraged them to email her office with any concerns.

Like Ensign, Stroud, who has only been at Dickinson since July, was focused on both getting to know students and to hear any concerns they might have. “My goal today is to introduce myself because I’m new and so this is a good way for me to get around and meet a lot of students and see how they’re doing,” he said. 

Stroud mentioned that he was specifically asking students about the first few weeks of classes and how their housing was. He said his focus was “just giving people an opportunity to ask any questions they may have, any concerns and address those issues.”

He said he had not heard any major complaints and that, “for the most part everyone has been happy and saying that these first two weeks have been pretty uneventful.”

While much of the hour consisted of both Ensign and Stroud making small talk, some students did come forward and ask questions. The president recounted that one student expressed confusion to her as to where so many of the high chairs had gone and that a different person, Victoria Gralla ’22, told Ensign it was her birthday. 

Gralla said that the president engaging with students reflects on her general feeling about the school. “This is the only campus where students who weren’t a part of the tour process interacted with me out of their own volition,” she said. “Having the president go around and be accessible and talk to students goes back to that feeling everyone’s connected and everyone has this shared purpose of learning more about each.”

The friendliness that Gralla describes fits in with Ensign’s values regarding building a community. Using examples of her previous jobs, Ensign said that it was important for people to find common ground. 

“When there’s a sense of pride and spirit I think we even faster to accomplish our goals and so part of this is to help build community, so people realize that we’re all here for each other, Ensign said. “And, if there are things to talk about, let’s talk about them. It’s kind of an amorphous thing, building community, but I sense an increasing pride among the students about who we are and what we stand for, and it’s very important.”

As for accessibility, Ensign said she believes it primarily comes through building community and students knowing they have access to her—whether in person or via email. Stroud echoed that sentiment, saying that he believes his job purpose is to be an advocate for students. 

“I’m in student life and there’s a reason why the student piece is there. In order for me to be an advocate for students we have to be out there and be accessible,” he said. “Students need to know that [they] can confide in us, that [they] can come and there will be a response in some way, shape, or form—it may not always be exactly the response that you desire, but there’s a response and we can explain why things are the way they are.”

Two juniors, Kaveri Patwardhan and Bianca Kapur expressed appreciation for Ensign and Stroud’s presence. “[It’s important] being visible and showing up so we know that we can access them or just talk to them,” Kapur said.

Stroud also clarified that as part of being accessible, it’s unhelpful to students for him to just sit behind a desk. “We need to be open and out there and available so that [they] know that we care,” he said. “We can’t do that and show that by sitting behind a desk. We have to get out, get involved with events, be where students are, and so that’s the goal.”