Roscoe proud of accomplishments as dean of students, excited to return to teaching
Bruce Roscoe said he hopes he is remembered foremost as an advocate for students in his more than 16 years as dean of students at Central Michigan University.
Roscoe tendered his resignation to Provost Gary Shapiro on Monday morning after much thought and deliberation between his wife and him. He said he did not make the decision lightly, but he is satisfied with it.
He said, contrary to rumors he heard, he was never asked to resign by the administration.
"I gave a lot of thought and reflection on my personal life and my professional activities here," Roscoe said. "(I) thought a lot about where the university is going, this is a transitional time."
Shapiro said Roscoe's commitment to students allowed him to push for his myriad initiatives at CMU.
"He has been the student-faculty liaison and a major factor in a lot of student services on campus," Shapiro said. "I'm going to miss working with him."
Roscoe said he is most proud of four changes made in his time as dean: The Volunteer Center, the Leadership Institute, Sexual Aggression Services and the Centralis Scholarship.
He said he was involved with former Associate Dean of Students Mike Owens in creating the Centralis Scholarship Program when he was the director of the Honors Program in 1989.
The scholarship program has had a significant impact on the university, Roscoe said, because of the high-quality students it has brought to CMU.
"We've succeeded in bringing more high-quality students, more highly academically prepared students to CMU," Roscoe said. "I'm very, very pleased that I was able to be a part of that."
Helping students, community
He helped develop the Volunteer Center which has been one of the biggest contributers to volunteer work on and off CMU's campus.
He said without it, much of the work in Isabella County would not be done.
"It has made a tremendous difference at CMU and has really enhanced our students' involvement beyond the campus, and has positively served Mount Pleasant and Isabella County," Roscoe said. "I have no doubt Mount Pleasant is a better place to live because of the involvement of our students."
Roscoe said he would not have been able to accomplish the things he did without the help of others on campus. He worked closely with Director of Admissions Betty Wagner in creating the Leadership Institute, he said.
Student Government Association President Brittany Mouzourakis, a Garden City senior, said the Leadership Institute was crucial in helping her develop as a leader both on and off campus. She also said it was essential in the development of her networking skills.
"It has helped shape me into the leader I am today," Mouzourakis said. "It really helped me develop my leadership style."
Roscoe said development of Sexual Assault Services and associated programs such as Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates created a much more supportive environment on campus. He said the programs give students who have been affected by sexual aggression an avenue to get the support they need.
"It started out focused solely on dealing with traditional sexual aggression, but it has become much more broad and includes now all aspects of interpersonal mistreatment," Roscoe said.
In an emailed statement, Michael Rao, who served as CMU president for nine years until 2009, said Roscoe's intensity, intelligence and personal commitment are "unmatchable."
"(CMU) has been extraordinarily fortunate to have Bruce's leadership over these years," wrote Rao, who is now president of Virginia Commonwealth University. "Students will benefit for many generations from Bruce's career."
As a dean, Roscoe said he hopes he is remembered as at least a competent, good guy.
"Hopefully I made a difference," he said.
The next step
Roscoe intends to return to the classroom to teach human environmental studies courses as early as January 2012.
He said he has a lot of work to do over the summer to prepare for teaching again, but it will be worth it.
"It is kind of nice how cyclical everything is," Roscoe said. "I'm very happy with my decision"
