St. Lawrence University: Commencement

Joe Tolliver, Dean of Student Life
Remarks
Dedication of the Sullivan Student Center
May 15, 2009

Good afternoon! It is a pleasure and an honor to speak you today. As the dean of student life, I live and work in this building, this student center. During the past three years I have been here during the day and the night, on weekdays and weekends, when the building was opened and when it was closed – Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall. I can tell you that this building works, it is a success. I'm not just saying that because we are here today. My job history has afforded me a great deal of context!!! I have had the pleasure of working at several other excellent liberal arts colleges. During the majority of my 36 year career I have lived and worked in student centers. I spent four years in the Mather Student Center at Trinity College, 4 years in the Crozier Williams student center at Connecticut College, 8 years in the Case student center at Skidmore College and my first non-teaching job in higher education was 5 years as the Director of the Macintosh student center at Barnard College. I know student centers. Student centers should be like BEE HIVES, buzzing with activities, thousands of community members flying far afield conducting their work, doing their jobs during the course of the day but always returning to some strategic central spot to rub wings with the rest of the colony. Perhaps an even better analogy is that St Lawrence is really a collection of rooms – Classrooms, Bedrooms and offices – rooms holding more than 2500 individuals. The student center is the living room. NO, better yet the student center is the family room. If we don't have a good student Center we don't have community, we don't have family, we have 2500 hundred individuals in search of community.

This student center was carefully conceived, designed and constructed with students and community in mind. The central players in its creation were Dan and Ann Sullivan. Dan is student centered and Ann is community centered. In order to understand what a good student center is or should be one needs to know students and student life. I have worked directly for 5 college presidents. There is no question that Dan Sullivan is the most student centered president I know. Most deans get to fill presidents in on and about students and their lives outside of the classroom. When I began to work for Dan I learned that he knew more than most about students and their whole lives. Dan understands what Benjamin Franklin meant when he said:

"I pay the school master for my son's education but both the school master and I know that it is his schoolmates who do most of the teaching"!!!

All SLU students learn a tremendous amount from their faculty as they pursue their academic curriculum; but there always has been and always will be an invisible curriculum. And the teaching for that curriculum takes place in the residence halls, the playing fields, the dining halls, in the student government and campus newspaper offices, in the Winston Room, the Hannon Room, the Crandell Room, the Student Activities office, the Career Services Office, and in the North Star Cafe over pizza, and coffee! Did you know that the North Star Cafe averages over 3500 individual sales and transactions every day? Did you know that the favorite food orders in the North Star Cafe year in and year out are in descending order:

1.) Dr. Feel Good (Grilled cheese with chicken tenders)
2.) Egg O’Larry Sandwiches (Fried egg with Cheese and ham on English Muffin)
3.) Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Fridays!

Dan Sullivan is Student Centered!!! He knew what kind of a center our students would need! Ann Sullivan is Community Centered and, as a result, our student center supports and nurtures community.

Several years ago when the President’s house was being renovated its design and layout reflected Ann's desire to have an SLU home that beckoned to all to come and mingle and break bread and commune and linger. Many is the time that I have been invited to a function at MacAllaster house that began at 5 pm and after two or three hours of community I would leave to go down the street to my home to walk my dogs, noticing that there were still cars on Hillside Road and guests at the Sullivans at 10pm! Lingering and Communing, they did not want to go home!!!

Ann, through her attention to detail, comfort and gracious living, brought that same sense of gathering and communing and lingering with friends and university family to the student center. You can feel it all around. When anyone who attended SLU arrives in town, whether from the Class of 2009 or 1959, they can see the scarlet and brown flag atop of the student center beckoning them to our community! I'm proud to be a part of the dedication of the Sullivan Student Center!!!!

Return to Commencement	Joe Tolliver, Dean of Student Life Remarks Dedication of the Sullivan Student Center May 15, 2009 Good afternoon! It is a pleasure and an honor to speak you today. As the dean of student life, I live and work in this building, this student center. During the past three years I have been here during the day and the night, on weekdays and weekends, when the building was opened and when it was closed – Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall. I can tell you that this building works, it is a success. I'm not just saying that because we are here today. My job history has afforded me a great deal of context!!! I have had the pleasure of working at several other excellent liberal arts colleges. During the majority of my 36 year career I have lived and worked in student centers. I spent four years in the Mather Student Center at Trinity College, 4 years in the Crozier Williams student center at Connecticut College, 8 years in the Case student center at Skidmore College and my first non-teaching job in higher education was 5 years as the Director of the Macintosh student center at Barnard College. I know student centers. Student centers should be like BEE HIVES, buzzing with activities, thousands of community members flying far afield conducting their work, doing their jobs during the course of the day but always returning to some strategic central spot to rub wings with the rest of the colony. Perhaps an even better analogy is that St Lawrence is really a collection of rooms – Classrooms, Bedrooms and offices – rooms holding more than 2500 individuals. The student center is the living room. NO, better yet the student center is the family room. If we don't have a good student Center we don't have community, we don't have family, we have 2500 hundred individuals in search of community. This student center was carefully conceived, designed and constructed with students and community in mind. The central players in its creation were Dan and Ann Sullivan. Dan is student centered and Ann is community centered. In order to understand what a good student center is or should be one needs to know students and student life. I have worked directly for 5 college presidents. There is no question that Dan Sullivan is the most student centered president I know. Most deans get to fill presidents in on and about students and their lives outside of the classroom. When I began to work for Dan I learned that he knew more than most about students and their whole lives. Dan understands what Benjamin Franklin meant when he said: "I pay the school master for my son's education but both the school master and I know that it is his schoolmates who do most of the teaching"!!! All SLU students learn a tremendous amount from their faculty as they pursue their academic curriculum; but there always has been and always will be an invisible curriculum. And the teaching for that curriculum takes place in the residence halls, the playing fields, the dining halls, in the student government and campus newspaper offices, in the Winston Room, the Hannon Room, the Crandell Room, the Student Activities office, the Career Services Office, and in the North Star Cafe over pizza, and coffee! Did you know that the North Star Cafe averages over 3500 individual sales and transactions every day? Did you know that the favorite food orders in the North Star Cafe year in and year out are in descending order: 1.) Dr. Feel Good (Grilled cheese with chicken tenders) 2.) Egg O’Larry Sandwiches (Fried egg with Cheese and ham on English Muffin) 3.) Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Fridays! And that approximately 25 gallons of soup is served there on a daily basis. Dan Sullivan is Student Centered!!! He knew what kind of a center our students would need! Ann Sullivan is Community Centered and, as a result, our student center supports and nurtures community. Several years ago when the President’s house was being renovated its design and layout reflected Ann's desire to have an SLU home that beckoned to all to come and mingle and break bread and commune and linger. Many is the time that I have been invited to a function at MacAllaster house that began at 5 pm and after two or three hours of community I would leave to go down the street to my home to walk my dogs, noticing that there were still cars on Hillside Road and guests at the Sullivans at 10pm! Lingering and Communing, they did not want to go home!!! Ann, through her attention to detail, comfort and gracious living, brought that same sense of gathering and communing and lingering with friends and university family to the student center. You can feel it all around. When anyone who attended SLU arrives in town, whether from the Class of 2009 or 1959, they can see the scarlet and brown flag atop of the student center beckoning them to our community! I'm proud to be a part of the dedication of the Sullivan Student Center!!!!
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