UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After nearly 15 years at Penn State overseeing 33 administrative units supporting students across the University, Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims has stepped down and will serve as a special assistant to the president until June 30. Sims will then move to the classroom as a non-tenure-line associate professor.
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Andrea Dowhower has been named interim vice president until a permanent replacement is named.
Since 2008, Sims has been a key part of the University’s overall senior leadership team. He has led the more than 500 full-time and nearly 1,000 part-time staff members within Student Affairs and has provided strategic oversight to an operation that touches all aspects of the student experience, with a focus on student success and supported by a budget of more than $100 million. An unwavering advocate for students, Sims promoted the student experience both inside and outside the classroom and modeled inclusive leadership by ensuring that students were directly involved in institutional decision-making.
The range of services and programs for which Sims has been responsible provide for student health and counseling, engagement and leadership, support and advocacy, recreation, safety, community and belonging, career development, and more. The various units and functional areas he has overseen include Residence Life, University Health Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Leadership & Engagement, Career Services, the Paul Robeson Cultural Center, the Parents Program, Sexual and Gender Diversity, Fraternity and Sorority Life, the Center for Ethical & Spiritual Development, Student Care & Advocacy, Student Accountability and Conflict Response, and Health Promotion & Wellness, among many others.
Sims has pursued these responsibilities in close partnership with students, faculty and staff across all Penn State campuses. Many of the services and programs that came into being within Student Affairs during his tenure, from the Parents Program to Student Legal Services, were collaborations with student government, other administrative units, or academic colleges.
Throughout his tenure, Sims has worked with local community officials and residents to sustain a positive town-gown relationship for the University Park campus. He co-chaired, along with State College Borough Manager Tom Fountaine, the Campus-Community Partnership on Dangerous Drinking, which received the 2015 International Town-Gown Association’s Impact Award, and he has served since its inception on a town-gown group regularly convened by the Chamber of Business & Industry for Centre County and Penn State’s Government & Community Relations. In partnership with the State College Borough, the Living in One Neighborhood (LION) initiatives were created and expanded during Sims’ tenure, and Student Affairs and the borough were selected to co-host the International Town-Gown Association’s annual conference in 2019.
Included among notable changes within Student Affairs for which is responsible:
- In 2008, created the Student Leaders Roundtable, consisting of a diverse set of more than 40 presidents of student constituent organizations convened regularly to offer advice to the administration about issues affecting students.
- In partnership with the University Park Undergraduate Association, created Student Legal Services in 2009, which now includes four full-time attorneys who advise and represent students at both University Park and the Commonwealth Campuses.
- In 2010, instituted the Parents Program to provide support and partnership to the parents and families of Penn State students. The program includes the Parents Council, which met regularly with the vice president to learn about the University, offer feedback, and support the student experience.
- In 2011, launched the Collegiate Recovery Community at Penn State to provide support to students seeking long-term recovery from alcohol and other substance use disorders.
- In collaboration with Undergraduate Education in 2013, transformed student orientation from a one-day testing, consulting and advising program to a two-day comprehensive summer New Student Orientation program.
- Successfully advocated for the transfer of recreational sports programs from Intercollegiate Athletics to Student Affairs in 2014 to create Campus Recreation, a more organized and comprehensive program at University Park. Significantly expanded and improved key recreational facilities, including the IM Building at University Park.
- Chaired the 2014 University Task Force on Sexual Assault and Harassment that resulted in the adoption of 18 recommendations ranging from creating a standalone Title IX office and mandatory training for faculty and staff, to a required educational module for first-year students. The task force also led to the establishment of the Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response in Student Affairs, which works with other campus partners to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based misconduct.
- Partnered with Penn State’s World Campus in 2015 to create a World Campus Student Affairs operation, which promises online learners in the World Campus many of the programs, services, and experiences otherwise available only to resident students at Penn State. The effort to infuse student affairs practice within the online experience of the World Campus is believed to be the first program of its kind in the world.
- Established the Center for Character, Conscience, and Public Purpose in 2015 to encourage ethical student engagement in public affairs. The center sponsors opportunities for students to pursue civil discourse on significant issues, ethical leadership, and voter registration and education through faculty-led seminars, public lectures by renowned speakers, and student organization collaborations.
- In partnership with Undergraduate Education and Outreach in 2017, launched the Student Engagement Network and established Student Engagement Programs within Student Affairs at the same time. These initiatives expanded opportunities for students to connect outside the classroom experiences with learning in the classroom by enhancing pathways to curricular and co-curricular research, student organization involvement, community leadership, artistic expression, study abroad, and more.
- Following the tragic hazing death of student Timothy Piazza in 2017, Sims developed Fraternity and Sorority Compliance to monitor social activities among Greek organizations; imposed new social restrictions on Greek-letter organizations; instituted deferred recruitment and enhanced eligibility requirements; supported a revised new member process; oversaw implementation of the Greek scorecard; developed a relationship statement signed by the University and all undergraduate members of Greek chapters; enhanced parent education related to fraternity and sorority life; and expressed zero tolerance for hazing at Penn State.
- Established the Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform in 2019 by arranging to move the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research at Indiana University-Bloomington to Penn State. The expanded center’s focus on educational outcomes, student safety, Greek life sustainability and success, and the reduction of high-risk behaviors has become a valuable resource for colleges and universities across the country.
- Created Off-Campus Student Support in 2019 to address the needs of students living off campus and partnered with State College and local landlords to address issues uniquely impacting these students.
- In 2020, co-chaired the University’s Return to Campus and Community Task Force and served on the Coronavirus Executive Leadership Team throughout the pandemic.
- In 2021, created the Commonwealth Campus Support operation, which affords dedicated and focused attention to student life services and programs at the Commonwealth Campuses and strengthens partnerships among Student Affairs operations at University Park and Student Affairs professionals on the campuses.
- Significantly expanded Student Care & Advocacy in 2021 to better address basic needs of students related to housing, food and other insecurities. This expanded effort combined with oversight for both the Lion’s Pantry and the Student Farm allowed enhanced coordination of the various resources supporting students in need.
During his tenure, Sims also contributed further to both the University and the broader community in the following ways:
- Served on the University Faculty Senate since 2008 and was the principal administrative liaison to the Senate’s Student Life Committee.
- Served on the Academic Leadership Council since 2010.
- Chaired Penn State’s first search for a University general counsel.
- Raised more than $24.4 million in private giving to Student Affairs.
- Advocated for and established a student-led process for setting mandatory fees to support non-academic programs, services, and facilities. The Student Initiated Fee now generates more than $43 million annually to enhance the student experience at all Penn State campuses.
- Was instrumental in conceiving and creating a World Campus Student Government and oversaw advising for all four Penn State student governments.
- Served on an interim basis as the University’s first Athletics Integrity Officer in 2012-2013 and has been a member of the Athletic Integrity Council since its inception.
- Served on both the University’s Ethics Committee and the Ethics & Compliance Council since the inception of each group.
- Served as one of two University vice presidents advising and overseeing the activities of THON, the world’s largest student-run philanthropy.
- Facilitated a $44.6 million renovation and expansion project for the Hetzel Union Building at University Park in 2015, as well as the transition of the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity to a newly remodeled and more visible space in the HUB in 2020.
- Chaired the University’s United Way Campaign in 2013.
- Chaired the Big Ten’s chief student affairs officer group from 2016 to 2021.
- Served on the Board of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts from 2010-2013.