WAYNE BART, Associate Director of Academic Advising, Office of Academic Advising
The profession of advising generally requires that we deepen the intellect of our students, help them discover their character, develop their well-being and have them take agency in the building of their career beyond their university experience. OAA’s Coach Approach to advising paired with the structure, build, and design of our process here reinforces this. In OAA, students receive a 4D Experience without recognizing it, and this is one area I plan to develop during my time as a fellow. I hope to develop an intentional approach, so students are more readily able to recognize their experiences and draw connections to their experiences across the university.
KATE DOUGHERTY, Assistant Director of Athletics for Administration, DU Athletics
In many ways, Denver Athletics embodies the DU 4D Experience. Our environment in the Ritchie Center is a natural place for each dimension to develop and thrive. Staff and student-athletes alike deepen their intellect as they build relationships with teammates and colleagues from around the world, encounter different perspectives, and learn to engage with different worldviews. We pursue curiosity as we work toward common goals – whether that goal is winning a conference championship, successfully hosting a large-scale event, or developing a successful external engagement campaign. Another strength of DU Athletics is the way we develop character through the challenges we encounter every day. There are no shortages of surprises and roadblocks in college athletics, and navigating them requires creativity, adaptability, communication, and perseverance. Building on these strengths and opportunities, my goal is to help staff better understand and intentionally incorporate the four dimensions into how we work, lead, and support our student-athletes, while also encouraging staff to consider their own well-being and sense of purpose.
ELISE GOSS-ALEXANDER, Director of Experiential Learning, Career & Professional Development
CPD has long embraced the 4D Experience and sought to integrate character, well-being, and intellectual growth into our career-focused programming. As I enter into an expanded role focusing on experiential learning inclusive of both student employment and internships, serving as a 4D Staff Fellow will provide me with connections across campus to better collaborate in improving access to paid, meaningful professional development. One of my goals for the coming year is to facilitate paid, on-campus internships, combining the work I’ve been doing in student employment with the increased campus focus on internships. Hosting on-campus internships provides an opportunity to integrate the intellectual growth and careers and lives of purpose dimensions. Real change can only be accomplished with the whole person in mind. Serving as a 4D Staff Fellow this year will give me the space and resources to implement this understanding across campus and within my own team.
HIRAM MARQUEZ, Assistant Director of Admission, Undergraduate Admission
We are already having conversations with students about their academics, interests, personal goals, and what they want to do after college, but I think there is an opportunity to be more intentional about connecting those conversations to the Four Dimensions. We may help students understand that their experience at DU is about more than just academics and that there are opportunities to grow as a whole person. My goal as a staff fellow is to help our office find that language and develop ways for our staff and student leaders to talk about 4D that feel natural and comprehensible for students while also differentiating us from other schools that are also following a holistic approach to education. In addition, I would like to use this role to better understand how staff and faculty are talking about 4D with their students and learn more about the stories of what 4D looks like in practice to give us real examples that we can bring back to prospective students and their families.
CRAIG MILLER, Director of Talent Acquisition and Development, Division of Human Resources and Inclusive Community
The Four-Dimensional Experience is often viewed through the lens of students, but its greatest potential may be realized when it also shapes how faculty and staff learn, lead, and grow. Throughout Human Resources and Inclusive Community, there is a strong commitment to developing people and fostering an environment where employees can do their best work. Our division already supports many initiatives that naturally align with the Four Dimensions through leadership development, employee learning, onboarding, performance management, engagement, well-being, and talent development. At the same time, I believe there is an opportunity to make the Four-Dimensional Experience more visible and intentional within the employee experience. While many faculty and staff recognize the importance of 4D for students, there is an opportunity to help employees see how the framework can also shape their own growth and the way they lead, collaborate, and serve the DU community.
McKENZIE MOHLER, Director of Student Success Operations, Office of Student Success
Though we operate in different divisions, the Office of Student Success and 4D share the same goals for DU students – transformational academic experiences, supportive relationships with mentors and peers, and using DU resources to lay the foundation for a fulfilling post-DU life. I am excited about this opportunity to elucidate how Student Success aligns with the 4D framework. I will focus specifically on developing advising guides for major academic advisors supporting sophomores, juniors, and seniors, in collaboration with the Advising Leadership Council. These guides will encourage advisors to use advising meetings as an opportunity to discuss how students’ academic, professional, and co-curricular activities contribute to their 4D Experience. This project will advance the goal of every student experiencing transformational academic advising, leading to their thriving at DU.
GRETCHEN PRESSLEY, Director of External Communications, University Relations
Although my unit of University Relations works very closely with the 4D team already, I still see opportunities for growth in our unit, especially for internal audiences but also for how we ourselves behave in line with the 4D ethos. Our strengths include a wide breath of knowledge about 4D and the ability to weave 4D in public- and DU-facing messaging. Our growth opportunities are similar: we can do more to tell stories of 4D and help create a storytelling environment where everything ties back to the 4D ethos. I would like to build more knowledge of the intricacies of 4D across University Relations and find opportunities for 4D incorporation in everything we do. To that end, we have ties to HRIC, Campus Safety, and many more to provide language for these units to talk about themselves in terms of 4D. I would also like to continue the 4D ethos within UR, specifically in terms of helping my colleagues embrace the four dimensions in their own life and work.
RILEY SEDLAR, Associate Director of Admission, Undergraduate Admission
The Undergraduate Admission Office has a strong connection to both current students and prospective students and families. Our robust tour guide program allows us to engage closely with current students and understand the student experience through their stories and perspectives. We also have an opportunity to share the 4D Experience with prospective students across the country and around the world through our travel and recruitment efforts, as well as through the work of the entire admission team. We have the privilege of elevating voices and experiences from across campus as we recruit, and those stories are often what make DU tangible and compelling to prospective students. Equipping our admission team with real examples and student stories that illustrate the Four Dimensions will further allow us to bring 4D to life during the recruitment process rather than simply describing it. By making those experiences more visible in recruitment, Undergraduate Admission can help prospective students not only understand 4D but begin to envision themselves within it.
