In a public forum as the first finalist for the Vice President for Student Life position, Tippie College of Business Associate Dean Kenneth Brown emphasized listening to students, bettering the campus environment, and advancing conversation surrounding important current issues.

University of Iowa students, staff, and faculty filled IMU Room 166 on Monday for the event, as Brown took the stage to reflect on his time at the university thus far and address his goals for improvement.

“When we work together, better things happen; amazing things happen,” Brown said. “If we rush and push too hard, things don’t progress as well.”

The UI in October 2019 launched a search committee responsible for filling the vice president for Student Life position after former head of the division Melissa Shivers announced she would leave the UI to lead student affairs Ohio State University.

Brown discussed his passion for leading and mentoring students, and how listening to and supporting students makes it possible to learn from them.

“You cannot replace someone like Shivers,” Brown said. “You can only pick up from where she left off and continue the conversations that she began.”

Brown’s priorities for the Division of Student Life include student engagement; holistic well-being; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and community and belonging. He does not believe that the division needs fixing or that someone needs to create a new plan, Brown said, but he wants to plant additional focus on preexisting priorities in the office.

By focusing on these goals, Brown said there can be a greater impact on the educational futures and careers of students. However, he added, this work cannot be done through one or two people, but everyone must pick up a piece to make for a better campus environment.

“As a faculty member who has been here for 22 years, I think it is so important to implement a connection between the Provost’s Office and Division of Student Life in order to create policies and a culture of well-being for students,” Brown said.

If selected, Brown said, he would work hard to connect the two departments in order to foster a one-university, one-mission mentality. Brown said that he wants to build trust among students by providing for an environment that works to their benefit and truly listens to them.

Following his presentation, Brown discussed the #DoesUIowaLoveMe movement and said he was pleased by how it challenged the university and those in its higher positions. In February 2019, Hawkeyes took to social media to voice their experiences with discrimination on the UI campus and to urge the university to take action to create a better campus climate.

Shivers previously told The Daily Iowan that she hired an executive director for Belonging and Inclusion, Maria Bruno, in response to students’ concerns raised in that movement.

In this instance, students were the educators, Brown said. He wants to continue encouraging conversations like these, he added.

UI Student Government LGBTQ+ Constituency Senator AJ King said Brown was transparent about his identity and the privilege it holds, which they appreciated.

“He seems self-aware and learned on cultural competency, and I hope to see how he performs such competencies in his work and practice,” King said.

When asked by attendees how he plans to address gender violence and sexual assault on campus, Brown said he wants to start by encouraging fraternities to understand the fear that their negative reputation causes for campus and the community.

The UI has previously administered the Speak Out Iowa survey to gauge students’ experiences with sexual misconduct and in response unveiled an anti-violence plan aimed to address the issue. The plan aims to expand prevention and education on sexual misconduct, and also better account for the unique experiences of individuals from underrepresented communities.

“As president of my fraternity in college, I am grateful for all of the skills greek life brought me,” Brown said. “Fraternities can do so much good for its students and the community, and I want to place stricter measures and guidelines to the fraternities to steer their priorities to where they should be.”

UI Student Government Governmental Relations Director Connor Wooff said he was impressed by Brown, and respected his stance on connecting and empathizing with students to make them more likely to engage in easy conversation about finances.

“Ken makes his work known to those even outside of his college,” Wooff said. “I like his thoughts on finding new funding resources for the division and university. He brought a personal connection to the cost of education and empathizes with students so that they can attach a friendly face to the cost.”

Wooff said that students face so many burdens with education at the UI, but Brown helps students feel less stressed. He also expressed an appreciation for Brown’s passion for connecting with students. A vice president for Student Life should understand what is best for students and listen to their needs, he added.

“I hear students’ fears, and I could never say that it is unrealistic, I say that we hear it and we are going to try to make things different,” Brown said. “You put aside institutional defensiveness to hear the hard stories. This is the only way we can get better.”