Alicia Meehan, Campus Carrier deputy news editor

Starting on Monday, Christian Wells and Devon Smyth will fill the positions of dean of students and director of community engagement, respectively. Wells is a student affairs administrator with 17 years of experience in higher education, including a role as assistant dean of students at Wesleyan College and several roles at Mercer University.

Smyth will head the Bonner Scholarship program, which focuses on community service and engagement. On Jan. 26, she replaced Laurie Chandler, the previous director of strategic engagement and operations.

Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Michael McElveen said that the dean of students plays an important role in representing students. The job will look different for the various areas that Wells will oversee. 

“The dean of students will be a key leadership position within the division of student affairs and amongst the college,” McElveen said. “[Wells will be] an advocate for student development [and] support.”

Wells will supervise the Residence Life program and will be charged with continuing to improve the residential experience for students. Title IX is currently managed by Associate Dean of Students Lindsay Norman, but these obligations will be added to Wells’ workload over summer 2026. 

With Berry’s Care Team, Wells will work to provide direct support for things such as mental healthcare, student engagement, resources and security. The Care Team consists of mental health professionals and faculty representatives. McElveen said that the team receives email alerts about students and manages each situation accordingly. 

“[Wells] will be a key member of [the Care Team] in the dean of students role,” McElveen said. “[She will be] meeting students where they are and offering support to help them 
be successful.”

The new dean of students office will be located on the third floor of Krannert, moving from its previous location in Hermann. Norman’s office will remain in Hermann. McElveen said that the move is intended to increase student interaction with Wells.

“Just being physically in that [student] space makes a big impact of just being there and being accessible,” McElveen said.

Vice President of the Student Government Association (SGA) Kaylin Rezek was the student representative on the hiring committee for the dean of students. The process began in September 2025 and included a series of interviews. There were 40 applicants for the role. McElveen said that the search committee sought out the candidate who could fill a high-level position with many years of experience in education.

Rezek worked alongside Michael McElveen, Lindsay Norman, Assistant Professor of English, Rhetoric and Writing Whitney Adams and other administrators on the committee. Like Rezek, Adams worked on the committee as a voice for the faculty.

“It was really cool because I didn’t realize I would be the only student representing the whole body,” Rezek said. “So, it was kind of daunting but also exciting to go about the whole process because it was very hush-hush.” 

While searching to select a candidate for Dean of Students, Rezek looked for both personability and professionalism. According to Rezek, the position is filled with hard days, and she wanted someone who could handle difficult conversations with students while staying warm and compassionate regardless of the situation. 

On the professional side, there are many administrative tasks that a candidate would need to handle behind the scenes. 

“There are things [they] should keep under wraps, and [they] have to have a strong backbone,” Rezek said.  

Rezek leaned towards younger candidates because she thought that some of the older candidates would have a hard time adapting to the current generation of students at Berry. 

“I think with our new Dean of Students, it’s going to be great because she has a really good time frame with knowing our generation,” Rezek said. 

Rezek said that she was confident in choosing Wells at the end of the hiring process. She thought that Wells cared a lot about student wellbeing, and Wells showed that during her final interview on-campus. She was an active participant in talking with students and asked 
personal questions.

“My biggest thing is like, who’s going to come in here and advocate for the students,” Rezek said. “Who’s going to choose the students’ side more often and understand where they’re coming from?”

Norman said that as a member of the search committee, a person with the background of living in a residential community was important to her. 

“Not all small private schools are residential, but Berry is, and that’s a big part of the experience with about 90% of our students living on campus,” Norman said. “So, I think a solid background in [Residence Life] was important.”

On a personal level, Norman said that she was looking for someone that would make a nice co-worker. The dean of students will live on campus, so Norman wanted a person she could look forward to seeing around outside of the office as well.

“I was hoping to find a fun co-worker, somebody who would make work fun and somebody that would enjoy their job and like living on campus,” Norman said. “It’s important to have someone that you get along with because you might be spending a lot of time with them both in your job and seeing them around campus.”

The previous dean of students, Lindsey Taylor, worked closely with the members of SGA. Rezek said that she brought Taylor’s influence to mind while searching for the new dean.

“[Taylor] knew every student here had a purpose and would leave the school better than they found it and would also leave the school better than they were themselves [when they] first came here,” Rezek said. “I think she set a really big standard for me in who should fill that role.”

Taylor became dean of students in July 2018. She described the job as consisting of two parts: representing students and developing policy to ensure their wellness. 

Taylor moved out of her role as dean of students last summer and now works as assistant vice president for human resources. She assists with anything a member of the faculty may need, including their experience and their benefits. 

“In some ways, there are some transferable skills,” Taylor said. “Instead of serving the students, I’m now serving the faculty and staff.”

Taylor enjoyed her years as dean of students. She said that despite the hard days, it was very gratifying to work to improve students’ lives. 

“Honestly, I loved the job,” Taylor said. “There’s no greater privilege than to do life alongside students and hopefully make their four years at Berry some of the best years of their lives. It was a taxing, difficult job, but it was very highly rewarding.” 

Taylor urges students as members of the Berry community to treat the new dean of students well. She said students should be gracious and give Wells time to learn. Taylor also brought advice for Wells, explaining that she should take it easy, and remember the honor that comes with the role.

“Treat it well and treat [yourself] well,” Taylor said. “It really is a position that comes with privilege and honor to serve. There are good days in that, and there are really hard, difficult days in that.”