When students step into the office of Brown’s new Associate Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students Dorsey Spencer Jr., they will find walls and bookshelves laden with art and memorabilia. From a nostalgic painting of a jazz band to former Brown president Ruth J. Simmons’s memoir, the office boasts a collection of keepsakes that gives a peek into his personality.
Spencer thinks that his decorations help students feel more welcome. “They’re not coming to meet with me in a sterile environment,” he added.
This past July, the University welcomed Spencer to his new role, succeeding Koren Bakkegard, who left the position earlier this year.
Now that the academic year is in full swing, The Herald sat down with Spencer to learn more about his journey to the position and his priorities in the new role.
Spencer wasn’t always planning to serve as an academic administrator. He initially planned to study film in hopes of becoming a music video director, taking inspiration from “old-school-bad-boy” music videos.
But when a faculty mentor “stressed the idea that (he) should expect to be socioeconomically disadvantaged for an extended period of time” until he could successfully break into the film industry, Spencer decided to consider other majors.
Because he enjoyed sports and also ran track at Temple University, he decided to study sport and recreation management with the intention of becoming a collegiate athletic director.
The sports management program also encouraged students to get involved with other activities, so Spencer became the chair of the student-run homecoming committee. When he applied, he didn’t realize that he would spend more time working with student affairs than he did the school’s athletic department.
“I really enjoyed the work that we were doing,” he said, noting the ability to “create or establish the student experience from outside the classroom and help students get engaged with the university,” he said. He continued to help shape student life at Temple, overseeing a campus concert featuring The Roots.
His passion for student affairs stuck with him. His mentors encouraged him to continue a career in the field, so after graduating, he pursued a master’s in higher education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Spencer then worked at Florida State University, where he also completed a Ph.D. Even now, he is finishing his MBA at Alcorn State University.
Spencer’s Ph.D research focused on how identity and upbringing can shape people’s leadership approaches.
He said he was intrigued by how Black undergraduate men learn leadership. Through his research, he found that an important aspect that made students “lean into leadership” was that they “self-identify as leaders.” For Spencer, his research reinforced that “it’s important to account for identity in leadership development.”
“You should embrace your identity and your background in your leadership style (and) not necessarily skew away from that background or the things that make you who you are,” he added.
Spencer comes to Brown with extensive experience in student-facing positions. He has held similar roles at five other universities, including the American University of Nigeria.
When Spencer was working at the programming board for Bucknell University, one of his mentors was looking for someone to develop a strong student affairs department at AUN, a private university in Yola, Nigeria.
The university was in a more rural part of Nigeria, so many students “didn’t have a ton to do” when they finished classes. His job was to “pull students in to help shape” co-curricular and extracurricular experiences.
Spencer said he was intrigued by the position at Brown because it presented a “balance between the student engagement side (and) the student support side,” which he thought would be an interesting combination.
During the hiring process, one of the first things Spencer noticed was the “authenticity” of the students at Brown. “Students are comfortable being who they are, and that was really enticing for me,” he said.
He said he is especially excited to engage the graduate and medical students. “I think sometimes (they) are forgotten,” he said, noting that student affairs often prioritizes the undergraduate student experience.
Brown also enticed Spencer because of its connection to the city of Providence. “I am a fan of urban institutions,” he said, adding that “there is a fascinating synergy that occurs when a student… (engages) with the city they are in.”
Spencer’s first priority at Brown is “listening and building connections.” He began his tenure by meeting with faculty and staff across departments, and he’s also launching a “Dining with the Dean of Students” program. “What I am looking for with that initiative is the non-student leader to come and engage with me,” he added.
His second goal is to increase outreach related to the offices he oversees, which include the Student Activities Office, Student Support Services and Student Accessibility Services. “I am pushing for us to have more of a presence and outreach to students before they engage with those offices so that they are aware of what those offices do.”
Spencer also works with the Office of Student Recovery and Care — the primary office for students directly impacted by the Dec. 13 shooting — to facilitate coordination with any services provided by Student Support Services.
His role is ensuring that students “are aware of what Brown is providing in order to support them.”
Spencer emphasized that the word “students” is built into his title. “I want (students) to understand that I am an ambassador to them. I’m an advocate for them.”
“If they are looking for someone to connect with, I am happy to be that person,” he said.
Alejandro Ruiz is a university news editor covering undergraduate student life and student government. He is a senior from Edison, NJ studying biochemistry and philosophy. In his free time, he can be found with his friends or with an AirPod in.
