Tara Grieco

HI ED 490
Dr. Loomis
October 25, 2015
Informational Interview Report
I interviewed Mr. John Marshall, Vice President of Student Services at Colorado Mesa
University in Grand Junction, Colorado. Mr. Marshall refers to his position as the real life
problem solver-in-chief. Every day he fields problems that typically go something like This
person has had (insert really interesting life challenge) and they didnt know who to call, so they
called you. Much of what he does is about negotiating solutions to things that are not always
within the defined boundaries of university policy. Mr. Marshall believes that the reason most
people dont have a college degree is not because English and math are too difficult, but
because it is hard to string together life and all that that entails and navigate successfully for
four or five years. He and his team members wear different hats across the spectrum of
services and he believes his position is triage and has learned to ask the right questions and
probe appropriately. The ability to ask the right questions to determine if there are mental health
issues, or hunger, or homelessness at the root of an academic issue is vital. He cautioned to
avoid any assumptions. Do not assume the student has a place to sleep, is not suicidal, or that
they will be ok when they leave your office. The goal of a student services professional is to find
the balance between focusing on the human side of an issue vs. the administrative and financial
side.
On a campus the size of CMU, about 9,500 students, that is accomplished through team
effort. He tries to avoid acting as a case manager for individual students at his level, but that is
not always possible. One tool used by the staff is Maxient; software designed to track students
of concern and also serves as conduct software. This allows a lead person to be assigned and
progress can be tracked.
His path to this position was not planned. In fact, he was not aware of student services
as a career before he was granted this position. He began his career in natural resource public
policy and got involved in politics very quickly. He ran a campaign for congress and became
senior policy advisor to the governor for agriculture and natural resources. Then, he left to run
another state-wide campaign. A big part of his job was putting out fires on a daily basis. His
experience was in public policy, governmental roles, and campaign work. He decided that the
intense lifestyle was not a great way to live and raise a family. He and his wife moved back to
Grand Junction to be near family and start their own business.

He was invited by the President of CMU to act as a fundraiser for a one year campaign
at CMU and raise $6 million. During that time he worked for the foundation and had a lot of
interaction with financial aid and public relations. Then, the Vice President of Student Services
retired and left the position open. The position was not exclusively student affairs in nature, it
also included fiscal management. Enrollment management was his strong suit, not student
affairs. He did have experience managing young people on political campaigns. He had
oversight of interns, etc. and managed many unique situations. One of his biggest challenges
was learning to think from student development perspective in addition to enrollment
management. His understanding of law enforcement changed as well. One thing he strongly
believes is that You dont know until you know.
He told me a story of the time an important man on the campaign trail called him out in
his first meeting by asking whether he had ever run a campaign before. When Mr. Marshall
responded in the negative, he said neither had he until he ran one.
Mr. Marshall believes his preparation was fantastic. Campaigns are pretty crazy and he
was constantly putting out fires. He was forced to make difficult choices very quickly. Student
affairs and political campaigning are very similar, according to Marshall. Student affairs
professionals need to have the ability to make quick decisions with well thought-out theory
behind them, you must be able to trust your gut. As VP of Student Services he does really
tough things with tight deadlines and diverse audiences, multi-faceted challenges, problems,
and personalities.
He believes experiential training is as important as an education in Higher Education. He
tells young people with masters in higher education and student development that come into
housing that theres no training for judgement. These positions require maturity and wisdom.
The one thing that he feels Higher Education programs fail to provide is fiscal preparation. In
this field it is very important that you be able to manage people and manage budgets. That, he
feels, is the benefit of his Masters in Public Administration and his governmental experience. He
learned how to manage budgets, how tax policies affect postsecondary institutions, and to work
across multiple constituencies. He feels that people new to the student affairs arena sometimes
fail to remember that student services must be provided within a budget.
He advised that when trying to prepare an interesting resume, one should get budgeting
and management experience somewhere. Step outside of the program to study budgeting. The
ability to manage people and budgets is what will give you and edge when entering the field.
He feels that the field is not as competitive as it might seem at first glance because not
many people good at both of sides of the issues. Sometimes it is tough to be successful in

student affairs because student development theories dont matter if you cannot work with
limited resources.
He would encourage anyone entering the field to try to look at issues from the
perspective of the university resident when pursuing a career. The president will need someone
who can drive enrollment, ensure that financial aid is awarded appropriately, engage the student
body, and properly deal with suicides and sex assaults. It is tough to find people with enough
broad experiences that they can manage those things.
He does not necessarily restrict his search for potential candidates to those with only
higher education experience. He looks for someone who has the ability to manage people and
human issues. He wants someone who can show him situations where they have demonstrated
judgement in a really tough situation. How do you deal with a crisis? What do you feel
constitutes a crisis? Do you know when to hold someones hand or push them to do more for
themselves? Maturity and judgement are vital.
He feels that many he has spoken with across the industry reveal a certain level of
arrogance associated with student affairs. They use their own lingo and parlance and some of
that is insecurity within the field. Student affairs professionals should be great at what they do,
but realize that they are not faculty. Student Services is about providing resources, not teaching.
Answers not always clear in this field and ambiguity prevails. Judgement calls must be
made. The bottom line should always be What is the right thing for students? Sometimes we
over-complicate the issues. Sometimes deliberate choices that make you and your institution
vulnerable must be made. Thats the tough work student affairs professionals are paid to do.
Marshall feels that there will be more reckoning for people in this field in the years to come as a
result of trying to follow legal advice and best practices that are often in conflict.
Marshall believes that the biggest challenge to the field is that we are seeing a delicate
generation of human beings that are not prepared with basic life skills. They cannot navigate
failure or complication. They do not know that they are capable of more than has been
expected. He feels that this feeds the mental health issues, sexual assault prevalence, and gun
violence.
Overall, Mr. Marshall feels that broad experience is just as important as an advanced
degree in higher education. To create a resume that will stand out, one must have fiscal and
management experience and/or education. Those skills combined with education in higher
education offer a strong likelihood of a successful career in student affairs.