Jennifer DeBurro

As divisions in society grow sharper, universities are uniquely positioned to cultivate environments where students can engage across divides. As Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at the University of New England (UNE), Jennifer DeBurro is at the forefront of her institution’s efforts to bring students together to engage in constructive discourse.

Max Webber, Co-Host of The Interview, sat down with Jennifer to discuss topics ranging from the challenge of engaging students beyond the classroom to the importance of being open to change and innovation. 

Jennifer's Journey

Max: Let’s start with a brief introduction to yourself and your institution…

My name is Jennifer DeBurro, and I serve as Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at the University of New England (UNE). We have two campuses here in Maine and another campus over in Tangiers, Morocco. We serve both remote and in-person students across a diverse array of offerings in the liberal arts and health professions, from certificate programs all the way through to doctoral degrees. 

Max: What inspired you to pursue a career in student affairs? And how did you arrive in your current role?

I wasn’t a person who was encouraged to go to college from early on. My high school guidance counselor actually told me I wasn’t suited for college, that I should work at the mall or start a family instead. But when I told my mom that, she said, “Absolutely not. You're going to college.” So I began with figuring out where I wanted to go, and what I wanted to study. Fortunately, I landed at an institution with some truly amazing student affairs professionals, and by watching I became really interested in their work. I saw that they had an opportunity to help students like me, to bring them into the fold and help them find their place. For me, that was really exciting, and I wanted to make sure all students had the same kind of support. There is something so empowering about being a part of someone’s journey. From that point on, I knew I wanted to work in higher education – and here I am, 25 years later, doing exactly what I set out to do.

Max: What’s the best way to go about creating a sense of inclusion and belonging for an institution with both in-person and remote learners?

For our in-person students, I feel that we need to create a diversity of opportunities to foster a welcoming environment. Everybody needs some way to become engaged with the university if we want students to do their best. For different populations of students, those types of engagement might look different. So we need to recognize that and then try to create a holistic approach to student well-being. That’s been a big part of our success. Our students can do everything from getting involved in the outdoors to trying art therapy projects.

Max: What’s your approach to engaging students outside the classroom, especially when it comes to difficult topics?

The research has demonstrated that peer-to-peer experience is highly valuable. That suffered a lot during the pandemic when students were studying remotely and weren't as connected to each other. Many of them felt feelings of isolation and loneliness. And so part of bringing students back into the fold is also encouraging students to help us lead. For example, in the past few years, we've been more diligent about adding peer health educators. We're also creating a peer mediator team to help take the heat off of our resident advisor staff. By putting students in the path of other students, we really capitalize on the value of those peer-to-peer interactions. I've been doing this work for 25 years, so I think I know some good stuff about how to engage students, but the real value is when their peers are engaging them and sharing those important talking points. 

Max: Society is becoming increasingly polarized, especially when it comes to the upcoming election. How can we train students in conflict resolution and encourage them to engage across difference?

It's such a difficult thing to do on campuses nowadays, especially given the rhetoric that exists out there in the world. There’s a lot of black-and-white thinking; there's a right side to every debate, and if you don’t think that way, you’re wrong. I think it's important that we challenge that. I'm fortunate to work at an institution where our president is leading with messages about the need for deep discourse and understanding. We have annual President’s Forum events, and through those, we’ve addressed challenging topics such as homelessness and the participation of transgender athletes in collegiate sports. These are not easy topics to dig into, especially when people come with such emotionally charged and personal stories. Through efforts like these we demonstrate for students how to have these hard conversations. It starts with deep listening, which means showing up for the other person in the room and really hearing them. Through our Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, we have folks who help our faculty every day to acquire the tools they need to lead those conversations in the classroom. These topics are becoming more and more divisive, and yet we want our classrooms to be inclusive spaces where our students can learn and challenge one another. We set the stage for this during orientation, hosting listening circles during our summer orientation program to set clear expectations for our community members. We encourage students to first, listen deeply, but also to be present and share something about themselves. As community members, we're ultimately here together to learn from each other.

Max: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received over the course of your career?

The way you’ve always done things doesn't have to dictate where you’re going in the future. Remember – there's a reason that our keyboards have a delete key on them. Don’t be afraid to change some things so you can better serve your students. There's always an opportunity ahead of us – sometimes it just means trying something in a different way.