Dean of Students Jean Griffin leaves Xavier for System Executive role at TriHealth

By Kayla Ross, Back Page Editor

Dr. Jean Griffin, Dean of Students, is leaving Xavier after working in student affairs for twelve years. She will be joining TriHealth as System Executive – Xavier Strategic Affiliation. 

In October of 2012, Dr. Griffin began her career at Xavier as the Director of Student Integrity. This role soon changed into her current role as Dean of Students, although her original duties as Director of Student Integrity remained. 

“I oversaw the student conduct process, but then little bits would get added that I would get to lead. There wasn’t a Dean of Students when I started in 2012, so in 2015, the university brought back the Dean of Students title. I continued in my Director of Student Integrity work but took on oversight of a few other departments. It kind of shifted my focus to student well-being and student support resources,” Griffin said.  

Apart from being involved in students’ lives as the Dean of Students, Griffin was also involved as a leader in many other projects on Xavier’s campus, including the creation of Xavier’s student commitment. 

“(My favorite aspect of working at Xavier) has for sure been the opportunities I have had to work with students on things that matter to them. One of the things I am so proud of was the opportunity to work on the student commitment,” Griffin said. 

“The fact that it continues to this day, and you still hear it at SGA meetings every Monday, Manresa and graduation is one of those great moments.” 

The role of Dean of Students reaches beyond the scope of student conduct and student integrity. 

In addition to these responsibilities, the Dean of Students role also has the ability to work on issues students may face on Xavier’s campus. 

In her time as Dean of Students, Griffin worked with members of the Xavier community to make changes. 

“There are policies that we changed because students came forward and said ‘this isn’t working for us,’ or new programs or new services. All of the ways I’ve been able to walk with students, hear what they need and use my leadership to make those changes have been some of my favorite things about working in this role,” Griffin said. 

Another main area of focus for Griffin specifically as Dean of Students is the aspect of student well-being, in coordination with one of the Jesuit values being cura personalis; the idea of caring for the whole person. 

“Over the past 12 years, we have dramatically changed the way we support student well-being. When I got to Xavier, student well-being was important because student well-being is synonymous with cura personalis, but the ways that we support that today and the teams that support that today are incredible. I am really proud of the ways we have advanced that work,” Griffin said. 

“Xavier is really special when it comes to the way that we care for students. This is work that I know will continue to grow because the people I have worked with for the past 12 years are so committed to always responding to changing student needs,” Griffin added. 

Although Griffin said that she “will miss being on Xavier’s campus and engaging with the Xavier community,” her work in improving the well-being of members of the Xavier community is not ending but merely taking on a new form. 

Griffin will soon be an employee of TriHealth but in a role that still focuses on student well-being. 

TriHealth and Xavier have had a long standing relationship, but the role Griffin will soon fill is intended to continue to build and strengthen this affiliation. 

“Since 2016, I have been a part of a team that has been leading the ways Xavier and Trihealth work together to create a model of collegiate health,” Griffin said. “I will be able to help continue that work and take it in a new direction to figure out the ways we can improve student well-being, employee well-being; how we think about what Xavier students need to go out and be the next generation of employees. There was a recognition that we will be able to take this further if someone who understands where it’s coming from is focused every single day on figuring out where this needs to go.” 

Griffin will always think fondly of her work with students directly as the Dean of Students and the opportunities she has had to work on student wellness. 

“I am so honored and so grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to be the Dean of Students at Xavier. To know I have been able to make a significant difference in students’ lives is something I will never get over. I’ve done work like this for over thirty years, but doing it at Xavier has been the pride of my career,” Griffin stated. 

Griffin will begin working in her role as System Executive-Xavier Strategic Affiliation at TriHealth on March 11.  

“I am so excited to lead it (this affiliation), and doing that is going to give the opportunity to bring in colleagues from Xavier and people from TriHealth, and bring them together to identify new strategies for teaching this (well-being), new ways of training students, new ways to help students and employees be well,” Griffin noted.

“I am so thrilled about it, and my kind of deep engagement with the building of the engagement over the past eight years will really help me for this next step. I know what the vision for this affiliation was, and because of that, I will be able to really help see this through. I want to help make sure that we are really living up to the goals the affiliation has,” Griffin concluded.