Transitioning to a New Institution: What Does That Mean?

The semester is in full swing, and in addition to focusing on the students and their transition to the new academic year, I am also reflecting and working on my own transition to a new institution, a different environment, and a new student population. I recently became the Program Administrator at the Center for Data Science (CDS) at New York University. CDS is a fairly new center that is quickly growing in size, in terms of academics, students, and faculty. Questions that I am particularly focused on are: How do I translate my goals and interests as a student affairs professional to a new environment? How do I adjust my approach to my work with students when changing institutions and student populations? Will my advising style change as I work with a new student population? If so, how?

A struggle I have encountered over the last 2 months was trying to find a balance between implementing what worked at my previous institution to my new institution and adjusting to what has already been done at my current institution. However, as I become more comfortable in my new role and learn more about the environment, finding this balance has become easier. As I spend more time at CDS and NYU learning about the policies, processes, and the people, I am gaining a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t work and the differences between NYU and my previous institution. Other things that have helped me with my transition is meeting my counterparts in other departments and offices so that I know who to ask when I have questions, not being afraid to take charge and revise existing policies, events, and initiatives based on my work at another institution knowing that they may need to be revised again in the future, and asking a lot of questions.

Another adjustment that I have to work on is working with a new group of faculty. At my previous institution, I finally established working relationships with a core group of faculty. There was an understanding of our roles and involvement in the student experience. Now, at my new position, I am starting from scratch. I have to learn about a new faculty culture, which as a student affairs professional is often difficult to break through. An interesting characteristic of the Center is that its core faculty are housed in both the Center for Data Science and another department, which makes CDS an interdisciplinary environment. There are faculty from engineering, science, mathematics, and the social sciences. Because of this, there is great diversity among the faculty. As a result, I have to figure out different ways to help faculty understand my role in student learning and development and vice versa. This transition is giving me the opportunity to continue to build relationships with faculty and the academic side of the house. It also allows me to work with faculty from all different academic areas. How do you talk to faculty about student affairs? How do you introduce them to our environment, language, and work?

It will be an interesting semester, and I’m excited to see what it will bring both for me and my students. Are there other readers out there that are transitioning to a new institution this semester? If so, please share any tips and advice that have helped you succeed in your transition!

About the Author

Preferred Name: Kathryn Angeles

Institution: New York University

Title: Program Administrator; ACPA CASHE Fellow 2016-2017

Kathryn now works with graduate students in the Center for Data Science at New York University. She was previously in the Computer Science department at Columbia University. Kathryn is a graduate of Vassar College (BA) and George Mason University (MA).

Contact Email and Twitter Name: kangeles@nyu.edu; @katangeles