51ĀŅĀ×

While the start of the spring term often means the return of many familiar faces to campus, the Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility (CSSR) has introduced a new one to the university this semester. Taylor Tackett, who is the new director of CSSR as of January, expressed an interest in expanding its partnerships with administrative and student organizations while reinforcing the steps taken by the office under its previous director Martha Compton. As CSSRā€™s new director, Tackett will be responsible for overseeing the handling and examination of student disciplinary infractions as well as the officeā€™s initiatives to increase the student bodyā€™s awareness of 51ĀŅĀ×ā€™s values and procedures.

An Ohio native, Tackett received both a Bachelor of Arts in Art Administration and a masterā€™s degree in arts and visual media from Tiffin University before taking a four-year position as assistant director of community standards at Idahoā€™s Bosie State University, through which he is working toward a doctorate in public policy and administration. A self-described ā€œfoodieā€ and outdoorsman, Tackett expressed interest in exploring both Athensā€™ unique mashup of cuisines and its beautiful parks and countryside while not working with the CSSR team.

Your degrees seem to have a bit of an arc to them, how did that come about?

While I was working toward my masterā€™s degree I thought that I was going to work in theater. I had worked professionally as an actor before I moved into higher education and I loved it, but when I got my graduate assistantship while at Tiffin, I began working in student affairs, first year experience and student retention, and I really started to fall in love with the work.

What drew you to 51ĀŅĀ× in particular?

I grew up in Columbus so I had the opportunity to see the campus before. I actually came down here during my freshman year of college to see a theater production. I always remembered the campus being very beautiful so I knew it would be a place that Iā€™d enjoy working. Adjacency to family is also important to me as Iā€™ve been living quite far away for some time.

What do you hope to bring to your new position?

I think that student conduct as a profession is transitioning. For the past 40-50 years weā€™ve been moving away from a punitive system toward a more education-based one, asking how a person can learn and grow from the experience. My philosophy takes that one step further, with a restorative justice-based process. I think we can use our conduct system to really reframe conflict and poor choices to be about growing, learning and folding folks back into the OHIO community. In this role, my job is to make sure students are able to persist even when they are facing challenges and that they develop a sense of accountability toward the university and community.

Have you set professional goals for the office that youā€™d like to share?

To me, our immediate goals should focus on relationship and coalition building. I am deeply committed to understanding what OHIOā€™s students are experiencing - both as students and participants in the CSSR process. The office has been doing some amazing assessment for a couple years now, and I think this year will be about understanding and interpreting some of that data. It would be my goal in the next year to spend time with the CSSR team and codify a meaningful experience that supports our goals.

What is your favorite part of Athens so far?

Iā€™m super into haunted stuff and Iā€™m actually staying near the Ridges. Itā€™s cool to be living up there, seeing that old space and learning about it as well as Athens in general. I also think Emeriti Park is quite pretty. Iā€™m excited to see it in spring and summer when the colors change a bit. Iā€™m particularly excited to see the cherry blossoms on campus and really get outside. I do love the outdoors and so I think it will be an amazing spring in Athens for me.