Assistant Dean and Director of Residence Life Matha Thornton says her job involves “vision and leadership. We provide programs that support and promote the integration of students’ personal and academic development,” she explains. She’ s also responsible for the residential life portion of the First-Year Program and works closely with the Advocates, group of faculty, staff, and student volunteers trained to serve as a support system for survivors of sexual violence.

Having been at St. Lawrence only since the summer of 2006, she says her most rewarding experience so far has been discovering the quality of the people she works with. “It has been very gratifying to work together to build a successful and dedicated team,” she comments.

            Before coming to St. Lawrence, Matha held similar positions at Haverford College, the College of Wooster and the University of Virginia. “At each institution, what I have enjoyed most is working with groups of students as their advisor and supporting their efforts in improving their programs and moving them forward,” she says.  “It is very rewarding when students are successful at reaching their goals, specifically in important leadership positions.”

Matha earned her B.A. in political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (she remains an avid UNC basketball fan), her M.S. in higher education from Florida State University, and her Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Virginia. She enjoys kayaking, and, as a newcomer to northern climes says, “I am new to the sport of ice hockey and am beginning to learn the rules of the game!”