Doug Searcy and Jeff Stein will play an important role in residence and student life as they join the Elon staff. Learn more about them and see who else is new in residence life by following this link...
Searcy, director of residence life operations and information management, and Stein, who will serve as assistant dean of students, are busily preparing for their first year at Elon. Searcy comes to Elon from Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C., where he worked as assistant dean of students and director of residence life since 1997. In that role, he was responsible for residence life, judicial affairs and student development strategic planning.
In his new position at Elon, Searcy has direct responsibility for the residence life program, including staffing, programming and student involvement.
“I was drawn to Elon because of its reputation,” says Searcy. “Elon is known as an institution that engages students and works hard to establish community. Since arriving in June, I’ve seen this philosophy in action and I love it!”
Searcy has also worked in housing and residence life positions at Appalachian State University and The University of South Carolina. He earned a master’s degree in student personnel service from South Carolina and a bachelor’s degree in communications/public relations and English from Mars Hill College.
Searcy and his wife, Beth, have a son, Carter, 3, and a daughter, Caroline, 8 months.
Stein will oversee residence life and service learning as assistant dean of students. He will also draw on his background as a writer by teaching a section of College Writing (E110) during spring semester. He also served as administrator of the MFA creative writing program at Colorado State. About 20 of Stein’s poems have been published in literary journals.
His administrative experience in student life includes work as an area coordinator for residential programs at Carleton College, as well as residence life experience at Macalester College and the University of Northern Colorado. Stein earned a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and literary studies from Beloit College, and master’s degrees from Northern Colorado and Colorado State.
Stein says the chance to combine his talents of teaching and administration attracted him to his new job. “Elon hasn’t asked me to ignore those different areas,” Stein says. “Lots of universities are scared of someone like me, who has an MFA in creative writing and a background in residential life. But Elon sought out that integration of academics and student affairs and sees the benefit of that combination.”
Stein and his wife, Chrissy, taught English for a year in Korea, and they have traveled to Kenya, Tanzania, Costa Rica and Israel. The Steins have a daughter, Lena, 3, and a son, Benny, 22 months.
Other new residence life staff members include Niki Turley, associate director of residence life operations and information management; Allison Ragon, assistant director of residence life for North Area; and Caroline Ryan ’02, assistant director of operations and information management.
Karen Floyd, who had worked as an assistant director of residence life, has taken on new responsibilities as associate director of residence life and service learning.