Jon Dooley named vice president for student life and dean of students

Dooley has served as Elon’s assistant vice president for student life and dean of campus life since January 2014. In his new position, he will serve as a member of President Leo M. Lambert’s senior staff and will be responsible for all aspects of student life, providing student services and co-curricular programs to advance student learning and development.

“Jon has demonstrated visionary leadership, a devotion to collaboration, a commitment to innovation, and an ability to communicate clearly and concisely,” House said in making the announcement of Dooley’s selection. “In addition, Jon is a national expert on student life matters with an impressive list of publications and presentations. I am confident that Jon’s expertise, energy and passion for students will further strengthen our powerful partnership between student life and academic affairs and establish Elon as the nation’s premier model for integrative learning.”

Elon’s student life division includes 90 professional staff members and 350 student employees. There are 15 departments, including residence life, new student and transition programs, student involvement, student leadership, service learning, student conduct, campus recreation, health promotion, health services, counseling services, fraternity and sorority life, the campus center, religious and spiritual life, gender and LGBTQIA, and race, ethnicity and diversity education.

“In my time at Elon I have been impressed by the students, the university’s excellence with engaged learning, and the strong partnerships between faculty and staff,” Dooley said. “I am deeply committed to Elon and glad to have the opportunity to continue serving the university, its mission and our students in this role. I am especially honored to follow Dr. Jackson in this position. He has been a tremendous advocate for students and a force for positive change during his years of leadership at the university.”

As a senior leader in the student life division, Dooley has overseen implementation of the university’s residential campus initiatives and co-chaired the Presidential Task Force on Social Climate and Out-of-Class Engagement. He has provided leadership for Elon’s civic engagement programs as well as initiatives promoting diversity and inclusion. His supervisory duties have included the directors of the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement, the Gender and LGBTQIA Center, and the Office of Residence Life, which includes 33 professional employees and four graduate assistants.

Dooley co-chairs Elon’s Provost Inclusive Community Team and the Council for Civic Engagement. He serves on the advisory board for the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement, on the Academic Service Learning Faculty Advisory Committee, the Residential Campus Leadership Team and the Residential Campus Advisory Committee, and as a member of the Data Governance Advisory Group.

Prior to joining Elon, Dooley held several leadership positions over 16 years in the Office of Student Development at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, advising student government, leading divisional assessment, and supervising student activities, commuter programs, fraternity and sorority life, late-night programming, leadership development, music programs, student organizations, and vocation programs. He held prior positions in student activities and residence life at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and James Madison University.

While at Marquette he was also a member of the program committee for the master’s program in college student personnel administration and taught courses for graduate and undergraduate students on diverse students on the college campus, cross cultural engagement, leadership and communication, and internships in student affairs leadership.

Dooley is a past chair of the board of directors for the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) and has been a long-time volunteer for the association. He received the Outstanding Lecturer Award from the Marquette University College of Education, the Distinguished Service Award from Marquette’s Division of Student Affairs, and two Ignatian Medals for Outstanding Campus Programs from the Jesuit Association of Student Personnel Administrators. He currently serves as a reaffirmation committee member for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges and is on the editorial board of the Journal for Student Affairs Research and Practice (JSARP).

Dooley has a doctorate in educational policy and leadership from Marquette University, a master’s degree in counseling psychology from James Madison University and a bachelor’s degree in history and social studies education from St. Norbert College.

He and his wife, Stacie Dooley, who is director of student life in the Office of Career and Student Development at Elon University School of Law, are the parents of two children.