Mike Ross, an assistant professor, has been named as the associate dean for faculty and staff affairs for the College of Applied Studies. He transitions into the role in June.
“My biggest goal is just to support our faculty and our staff, to make sure that they are able to give students the best experience,” Ross said, “I’m living proof of that because I had good experiences (as a student, and) I’m here now.”
As associate dean, Ross will act as a liaison between the College of Applied Studies and the tenure and promotion committee, which decides who receives promotions. He will also help with the new faculty mentoring program, which begins this fall.
Ross started his journey at WSU in 2000. At the time, he was working towards his associate’s degree. Balancing work, having a family, and studies at Barton Community College, led him to struggle academically, and he looked elsewhere for studies and a career.
At first, Ross planned to move from coaching high school football to college football, but after touring WSU, that changed.
“The reason I ended up coming here was because of the people,” Ross said. “I thought that the people were very caring.”
While he was pursuing his bachelor’s degree in sports administration, Ross was hired by WSU’s athletic department as a student assistant and started working full-time while pursuing his master’s.
“It was close to a decade’s worth of experience, as a student and employee,” Ross said.
That decade soon turned into 25 years. Ross continued teaching classes and working with students and staff. He said that led to him being offered, and accepting, the position of associate dean.
“I think any time you look at education, you’ll get out of it what you put in,” Ross said. “So lean into people that are willing to lean into you while you’re here … lean into the experience of being a Shocker because it’s for life.”
