Dean Royster Hosts Student Listening Lunch

Posted February 26, 2019

Students in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts celebrated Valentine’s Day with a lunch and listen session with Dean Jacqueline Royster during which they gave feedback on how the College can become a more supportive learning environment.

The lunch was the latest in a series of student listening sessions planned by Dean Royster in collaboration with students in response the tragic student events on campus during the past two years. 

During the session, Dean Royster emphasized her continued availability to meet with students, and reinforced the College’s commitment to foster a more supportive mental health environment on campus.

“I do feel like the Ivan Allen College is listening to us and our feedback. During my four years at Tech, Dean Royster has always been accessible, even if I’m just walking by her office or run into her somewhere on campus,” says Will Thomas, an Ivan Allen College ambassador and International Affairs and Modern Languages - German major, who attended the lunch. “When I’ve been disappointed in the administration at large at Tech, never did I feel disappointed in the College or our leadership.”

Dean Royster noted that students who had not participated in planning the previous listening sessions attended the lunch, signaling that new students are finding value in these events.

Overall, increased mental health support on campus was the dominant issue as students discussed how Georgia Tech’s mental health resources have strengthened over the last year, and where there is still room for improvement.

The Dean’s Office plans on organizing similar listening events to better understand the needs of Ivan Allen College students.

“I think it’s very important for students to feel like their opinions matter and the administration cares,” says Emily Bunker, an Ivan Allen College ambassador and Literature, Media, and Communication major who also attended the lunch. “Having listening sessions like this one minimize a sense of bureaucracy in the College and instead build up a sense of community.”

The School of Literature, Media, and Communication, the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, and the School of Modern Languages are units of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.