Jana Lynn Patterson first arrived at Elon University in 1986 and has served many roles throughout her career. Originally hired as an assistant professor and the assistant dean of student affairs, Patterson has taken on many roles throughout her career including assistant vice president for Student Life, associate dean of students and dean of student health and wellness.
Patterson has worked at Elon University for 39 years and serves as associate vice president for Student Life and dean of students. She announced that she will be leaving the role as dean of students at the end of the year and retiring in September 2026 — leaving Elon searching for a new dean of students. Before she retires, Patterson will oversee the development of HealthEU until September 2026.
This interview was shortened for clarity.
What do you oversee as dean of students?
I oversee Student Conduct, emergency response, behavioral intervention, Student Care and Outreach, and then I also oversee the health and the current student health and wellness areas, Campus Rec, health promotion, counseling services, Student Health Services. So this is the way that the dean of students position has been envisioned or has operated here for the last several years is a much more comprehensive title.
What is the timeline for finding a new dean of students?
The search consultant reports that it is a very robust applicant pool, which we would expect. There’s a search committee that’s kind of going through that now. We will probably interview candidates on campus toward the end of March first week of April and then navigate that part of it with hopefully the start date of early June. The two co-chairs are Dr. Jason Husser and Dr. Randy Williams. And then there is representation from Student Life, from the faculty, from our partners in business and business finance and top knowledge. So it’s a broad based search committee, and there’s students. There’s two students on that committee as well. It’s because the dean of students interacts with every facet of campus at some point during the time you interact with every facet.
Dean of Students Jana Lynn Patterson chats with Elon University Horticulturist Susan Tripp at the College Coffee kicking off the launch of HealthEU, Elon University's student wellness initiative, in 2023.
What will you be doing in your new role for HealthEU?
I’ll really work on working with Dr. Räisänen, who is the director of HealthEU initiatives, and works to really make sure that we’ve got a good strategic plan for HealthEU for the next five years, making sure that we’re providing good joint leadership around now that we’ve kind of got the building plans together. We’re beginning to think about, ‘What do we think about operations?’ ‘What are we thinking about equipment?’ Those kinds of pieces that are going to make the building kind of come alive once the contractors get in there and build it. I’ll begin to do some things with planning with our directors around you know what their strategic plans are going to look like in those areas in the next five years. So, I’ll still have plenty to do.
Why did you decide to transition out of dean of students and eventually retire?
Well, Elon has been my home for 40 years. I’m ready, and I think the institution will be ready. We’ve got great leadership here. Now it’s nice to think about retiring in a place where I think there are just so many talented and committed folks in student life, in my reporting areas. Dr. Dooley is probably the best vice president in the country. And being able to really have the pleasure of being able to be a strategic thinker at a time when the institutions are doing well and while institutions are struggling right now, we’re not. Our students want to be here. There are staff who want to be here too, because it’s just an exciting place to be.
How do you feel about your transition and retirement?
It’s very surrealistic when that’s been your identity all the time. It’s wonderful and it’s exciting, but it’s also a little bit like, ‘What do you mean somebody else is going to be dean of students for a while?’ I don’t think you can get here and love the work that you do and not grieve at least a little bit about what that’s going to look like, and how things are going to continue after it.
Do you have any advice for the incoming dean of students?
I hear a lot from people that I would never have because I deal with emergencies and things like that. But there is nothing more humbling than to sit with students and families sometimes when things are not going well, and you help move them to a place where there’s hope and where they understand and they gain perspective. And I mean, that’s really an honor and a pleasure. Elon is a relational place, and in order for a dean of students to be successful, they’re going to have to be willing, not that they have to be a big extrovert like I am but you have to be willing to build relationships. And that is just key. And that’s really, really, really important, and you have to be willing to engage with people and to love your work.
The other thing about Elon is that Elon is not a place that’s going to sit still. And that’s one of the things I tell anybody who comes in here as a candidate for any position that I work with or that I interview is that anyone is a place that’s on the move, it’s always on the move, and so you have to build both. You have to balance both this sense of introspection and reflection and kind of stability with this. What are we going to do next? How are we going to plan for next? Where are we going to be here? Because Elon is a quite different institution than when I started 1986.