Sonoma State has a new dean of students, Ryan-Jasen Anders Henne. Henne has been at Sonoma State since Dec. 2017 after leaving the University of Alaska, Anchorage for the dean position.
One of the main reasons that he choose Sonoma State was because he felt it had the goal of putting students first. “The people were really engaged and really wanted to put students first, and that aligns with my values,” he said. “There were two students on the hiring committee and for me that’s a great sign of an institution wanting to put students first.”
Henne did his undergraduate work at East Carolina University, with a major in Communications and a double minor in Business and Theater. He got his masters in Education from Grand Valley State University, and his Phd in Educational Leadership and Counseling Foundations from the University of New Orleans.
According to the Sonoma State website, the dean of students position includes “support and supervision in the areas of Residential Life, Campus Recreation, The Hub Multicultural Center, and Student Involvement.” Henne also said that he works with Student Conduct. He was especially attracted to the Campus Recreation aspect of the job because it would provide him with a new professional experience. “The position was unique because it was a dean of students position that oversees all the traditional functional areas, but also the rec center and that was something that I didn’t have a lot of experience with,” he said. “I was looking for an opportunity to grow as a professional.”
He also loved the beautiful campus and the welcoming community. “As a person who has three kiddos and a same-gender spouse we needed a place that was going to be welcoming to us as a unit, and we have found that here.” Henne and his husband Justin were the second male same-sex couple to adopt in Alaska.
One of Henne’s main objectives in his new role is to make students comfortable expressing themselves. “In my time at Sonoma State I hope to create a space where students feel like they can be their authentic selves. I hope to create a space for discourse because I don’t think that everyone has to have the same opinion on any topic.”
As someone who is responsible for much of what happens outside of the classroom, Henne feels it is important to make sure that students are able to accomplish what they want out of campus life. “What I perceive to be the most important aspect of my job is that I provide students access to the best possible undergraduate and graduate student experience they choose to have,” he said. “I want to make sure there are no barriers for them to participate in whatever it is they want to do.”
The most challenging time in Henne’s career, a time that has changed who he is as a professional, was when he was 23. He was working in his first year out of grad school and a student was killed in a car accident. “Knowing him personally, knowing the impact that his loss had on campus made it difficult for me,” he said. “I couldn’t help his friends, I couldn’t help his fraternity brothers. I was limited in what I was able to do…It definitely has informed on how I do the work that I do.”
When making an important decision in his work, Henne looks at the big picture. “I think about if you were to drop a rock into water, there’s a ripple effect. The center of it obviously is going to be the student. And around that is going to be the immediate family and friends, the next ring is going to be classmates, maybe clubs or organizations that they’re participating in, and the last ring is going to be the institution as a whole.”
Henne’s office is located on the third floor of the Student Center in the Student Affairs Suite and he welcomes any students who would like to talk to him.
