MSHE Faculty Spotlight: Jeremy Schenk
Jeremy Schenk is the Associate Vice President of Operations and Services in the Division of Student Affairs at Northwestern. He also teaches the Crisis Management and Mental Health course for MSHE students. He received his doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Missouri, and has profesisonal experience in a wide variety of functional areas including housing, student centers, student organizations, and more.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in Jeremy‘s interview are his own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Northwestern University.
MSHE Graduate Assistant Sarah Eisenberg (MS’24): Have you seen certain trends or commonalities that are continuing to carry over that might have come about since COVID?
Jeremy Schenk: I think there are some. We like to focus a lot on the negative pieces. There are actually some good things too that I'll talk about as well. But when we look at the trends carried over from COVID, the use of technology is a key piece. We now have the ability for us to think about flexibility. For our faculty and staff and students it's different now. I often say that making a change in colleges and universities is like turning the Titanic. It’s just such a slow, slow process.
But in 2020 everything moved fast. Major change institutionally moved fast. So I think it taught us that we can move fast to make changes to benefit and help our students. It also taught us that we have to work collectively across the university. We can't work in silos. We can't navigate in just the student affairs realm or an athletics realm or an academic in Provost area and the registrar and risk management. We all came together through COVID to have to navigate this together and so COVID did a great job of breaking down silos on institutions. And I think now we have to be intentional about keeping those down and that that requires the work of everybody that works in higher ed to do.
Sarah: Could you talk a little bit about what you discuss in the MSHE Crisis Management and Mental Health course, as well as what you like most about teaching for the MSHE program?
Jeremy: Well, the course really looks at the mental health aspects [of higher education]. Students who are in the class will receive a certification in Mental Health First Aid. That is all about how we, as professionals, support not just students, but support people who are going through some mental health crisis and need that support: faculty, staff, community members, siblings. It's really about being able to think about and support people in life, and be a little bit more grace-filled and a little bit more empathetic and know that you need to invest in and support each other. And then the crisis management piece - when you look back at the history of higher education, oftentimes crises steer how the institution student relationship are formed. Throughout this class, we talk about crisis management. We talk about crisis response, crisis communication, and look at some crises that have existed. I love teaching in the MSHE program because I love being able to talk with current and future professionals in the field and talk through and just be able to support each other as we think through this career choice. My research for my doctorate was in the impact that departmental leadership has on entry level professionals’ engagement, job satisfaction, skill development, and retention. Especially when we think about that retention and recruiting and retaining the workforce in higher education, it's programs like MSHE that are preparing people to go on and be leaders in our field. And leaders on our campuses and have a direct impact on the sustainability of our profession. For me, that's something I really enjoy about teaching in the program.
Sarah: Are there certain elements that you think should really be focused on more to overall support mental health and wellness in higher education of everyone on the campus, students, faculty, or staff?
Jeremy: For me, when I think about what should be in the job description of every person who works on a college campuses, one of the top items should be to support the mental health and well-being of our students. I reflect as a first gen low-income student. It was my advisor for my student organization who mentored me. It was the custodial staff member in my residence floor who checked in on me when I was having a hard test. It was the person working in the dining center who looked at me one day and said, ‘you look like you're really struggling. Are you okay?’ Those are all pieces that, when you think about their specific jobs and duties, it's probably not outlined anywhere in there to think about the mental health and well-being of their students. But that is, and should be, our top priority no matter where you work on that college campus. For me, that's the primary focus. We used to tell people in Norris during Wildcat Welcome that although it's a really busy time, and you're going from event to event, what was even more important was taking the few minutes to walk through the building and notice a student sitting by themselves, or if they're in tears or if they're seemingly sad. And just to check in on them, buy them a cup of coffee, see how they're doing. That can be transformative. There's a book by Chip and Dan Heath called ‘The Power of Moments,’ and it talks about how little moments have big impact. And as staff and on college campuses, those little moments have big impact.