As NIU students start thinking about moving back to campus for the fall semester, Jon Dalton is preparing for a much longer journey.

The NIU vice president for student affairs will assume a similar position at Florida State University in Tallahassee on Aug. 15. Dalton offered these thoughts on his five years in NIU’s student affairs division.

Calling NIU’s racially and ethnically diverse student body a “real asset to the university,” Dalton said this diversity must be addressed in order to effectively reach all NIU students.

NIU is “doing very well” in its efforts to increase retention of minority students, Dalton said. Minority students equal 20 percent of NIU’s incoming freshmen, he said.

Leaving NIU as its student body undergoes these demographic changes is difficult, he said, adding that the issues that concern NIU students are “not all that different” from those affecting the 26,000-student FSU campus. Students all across the country are concerned about the rising cost of higher education, the quality of academic advisement and decreased access to classes, he said.

Students at Illinois’ public colleges and universities pay 45 percent of their education costs, with the rest of the bill being picked up by the state, he said. In contrast, FSU faces the possibility of 25 percent student-funded tuition, he said.

Dalton said he would like to see student life tied more to academics, and he contradicted national findings that schools do not regard student life as a contributing factor to students’ academic experience.

Students don’t always realize that campus services and programs are created to benefit them, Dalton said. “Students run the services—(NIU) students do as much in funding and supporting services as you are likely to find anyplace.”

NIU’s reputation as a “suitcase college” also concerns Dalton. DeKalb’s proximity to entertainment-laden Chicago makes it “difficult to do major concerts here,” he said. Increased weekend programming at the Holmes Student Center and other campus locations might strengthen the desire of off-campus and commuting students to spend more time at NIU, he said.

Dalton, who grew up in the Midwest, came to NIU in 1984 as associate vice president for student affairs. He was promoted to acting vice president for student affairs in 1985 and to vice president a year later.

Barbara Henley, Dalton’s assistant, has been named acting student affairs vice president until a search committee names a permanent replacement this fall. Dalton said his successor must attempt to make NIU “more aware of the fact that there are (racially) different students coming.”

Dalton said his years at NIU have been a “great experience,” providing him a “rich opportunity to learn about leadership.”

NIU has served as the scene of a “lively debate of issues,” which Dalton said is beneficial to students. Such constant debate is something that he “never viewed as something that should never happen,” he said.

Dalton’s interaction with students has taught him one thing above all—that the role of student affairs vice president is to reflect the interests and needs of students. His job is not to speak for students, he said, “because they are very capable of speaking for themselves.”

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