AARON SKUBBY, Editor-in-Chief —
The first thing that Dr. Nicole Ausmer will tell any new student she meets is “you can call me Dr. Aus.” After spending the past twenty years living and working in Cincinnati, she has relocated to The Hill to serve as the new Associate Vice President and Dean of Student Life at Denison.
Ausmer’s position is responsible for working with five units that are a part of student life: CLIC, residential communities, religious and spiritual life, the office of community values and student conduct, and the multicultural student affairs office.
As Ausmer herself explains, “there is no typical day” working here. “This position has a lot of meetings. Meetings about student issues and needs, meetings about DCGA, meetings with people who lead those offices directly.” But above all, she values meeting with students. “One off meetings with students always bring me joy, and it reminds me why I do this work. My calendar always has space I can meet with students,” she said.
Originally from Lorain, Ohio, Ausmer has spent the last two decades at the University of Cincinnati, first as a student and then an employee.
Her most recent position was as the Director of Student Activities and Leadership Development at the University of Cincinnati, where she oversaw over 600 student organizations.
While at her previous job, Ausmer was not looking for a career change when she first heard about the new position. But as her sunny office on the fourth floor of Slayter shows, important changes can come when you least expect them. “I felt that it aligned with my skills and what I wanted to do next in my career,” she said, “and it gave me an opportunity to explore different institution size, one that’s more intimate and we get to know students on a first name basis.”
“One thing that has been really great about Denison is students saying ‘Oh, you’re Dr. Aus! I’ve heard about you and I want to meet with you,’” she said.
A priority for Ausmer is putting students first “I’m someone who’s committed to students being the architect of their experience here. I want Denison students to know that they have the tools inside of them to do great things, and that we have great resources here on campus that can help them get there.”
Part of Ausmer’s job is to act as the primary advisor for the Denison Campus Governance Association (DCGA). DCGA Speaker Maddy Murphy ‘23 shared her experience working with Dr. Ausmer. “She really sees the value in our perspectives which is really awesome and really refreshing,” Murphy said. “I was part of the student interview team that helped in the search process for her position, and from the first time I met her in the interview I could tell she is an extraordinarily student-centered person, and someone who really values student input and isn’t here to tell us what to do but is hear to guide us.”
Outside of her position, Ausmer is a dedicated mother and a lover of inspirational quotes. “While I’m a Denison employee, the title of ‘mom’ is my favorite. So if I could put that in my [email] signature it would say “mom-in-chief,” she said.
Ausmer left students with her favorite quote as advice for their time ahead, by an unknown author: “if at first a task begun, never leave it until it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.”