A Moment with Dean Slater
Alicia Slater became Dean of the School of Science in July 2018. Photo courtesy of Marist College.
A Florida native, Dr. Alicia Slater never expected to fall in love with Marist College when she came to interview for the Dean of the School of Science position in the middle of a grey, windy February.
“I remember telling my husband, ‘Don’t worry we are not moving to New York, I’m just going up there to check it out,’” Slater said.
After meeting with the other deans, seeing the beauty of the campus and hearing about the newly developed physical therapy and physician assistant programs, she knew there was no other place for her.
Slater did not envision herself as a dean, but when she was a biology professor at Stetson University, she took an administrative approach by making structural changes to the science programs. She noticed a pattern in which students who did not take advanced biology courses in high school had a slimmer chance at succeeding in a science program in college. To Slater, this disparity was unacceptable, pushing her to take action.
“If you asked me about the rate of success in my biology classes back then, I would have seen it as an equal opportunity,” Slater said. “It was set up to make students like me be successful because it was the way I had been taught and been successful.”
She started in her own classroom, switching the standard model of teaching by sending students home to watch the lectures and focusing on hands-on learning in class. She eventually expanded the changes by taking the innovative approach and improving peer tutoring programs across the science department. She noticed this helped students channel their passion for science without becoming overwhelmed by the new material.
“I spent most of my career being focused on my classroom and my research and really enjoying the relationships I had with students during those times, but I started to realize the impact I could make in terms of number of students was limited when I was working at the level of my classroom and my research,” Slater said.
Despite being a self-professed introvert, Slater knows she can help make other’s lives better by putting aside her love of contemplative silence in favor of her passion for helping students through education.
“I am an introvert in the true sense of the word meaning I process things internally and privately,” Slater said. “Education is opportunity. It changed my life and I cannot impart that on others without being social.”
She takes an hour at the end of each day during which she does not talk to anyone as she “recharges her social battery.” Nevertheless, her persistent, positive energy is contagious.
Before she left Stetson, she was promoted to department chair, making her colleagues nervous to speak out against something she was passionate about because when Slater becomes passionate about something, there is no talking her out of it.
“It was always a meeting of the minds because I would advocate for something until it was proven impossible,” Slater said.
Despite her obvious passion for the hard sciences, Slater began studying engineering in college because of her aptitude for science and math. However, she knew she wanted to have a “people intensive” career with which she could spend more time holding difficult conversations. She always had an interest in the natural world, stemming from her father’s time as a science teacher so she eventually settled on biology.
“I changed my major to biology, despite needing to go to school longer to complete the required credits, but I found that I have endless passion for the subject,” Slater said.
She hopes to continue her work at Marist by increasing enrollment and adding another building dedicated to the sciences. One of her main goals is to continue working towards true diversity, equity and inclusion in the science department.
“Being energetic and hardworking has served me well, but I had to work hard to get where I am,” Slater said. “Through my leadership, I’d like to create an environment for students and faculty to continue to follow their passions.”