Ella Kitchens, Special to The Denisonian

Dr. Ricardo Hall believes that every student can belong at Denison.

“Belonging is of central importance to everybody,” Hall said. “That’s not just student life, that’s faculty, that’s campus safety, business services, dining services; belonging is important.”

Before starting at Denison last month, Hall had a long career serving at Lehigh University, University of Miami, Wake Forest University and Clemson University.

“He’s a student affairs purist,” Senior Associate Vice President of Student Life Nicole Ausmer said. “He got his early start in the field and has the degrees to back it up.”

Born and raised in Ohio, Hall received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ohio University, then moved south to obtain his doctorate in educational leadership from Clemson University. He stayed at Clemson after his PhD, working as associate director of judicial services from 1997-2000.

From 2000-2006, Hall worked as Associate Dean of Students at Wake Forest. Out of all the schools he has spent time at, he said that Wake Forest and Denison are the most similar because of the residential communities that form among students.

From 2006-2017, Hall worked as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at the University of Miami. In these roles, he worked to foster community and improve diversity. Despite the differences in location and size, Hall said that “a lot of the student experience aspects of my work is in some ways universal.”

Following this, he worked at Lehigh as Vice Provost for Student Affairs until 2019. He then became Vice President for Student Affairs at Lehigh, a position he held until earlier this year. While at the school, Hall tried to make sure every student felt supported in their adjustment to college life. He helped to do this by creating a sophomore orientation program, meant for students who spent their freshman year online due to the pandemic.

“Every college and university puts a lot of energy into orientation and greeting first year students…so why not give that energy to the second year?” Hall said. The program has continued even after the pandemic.

“He understands the work holistically,” Ausmer said. “He worked his way up through the field and has had his hand in a lot of different areas.” 

At Denison, Hall will continue to work in a variety of different domains. As Vice President for Student Life, he and his team work to enhance every aspect of students’ residential experience.

In his first year, Hall plans to focus on everything from analyzing data the university provides about dining halls and wellness to evaluating new ideas that are being implemented. Ideas include the off-campus orientation trips for first years and maintaining  open communication with students.

“If we’re going to be meeting students’ needs, we have to listen to them,” Hall said. 

He believes that communication is key to building a strong community. On the short elevator ride to his office on the fourth floor of Slayter Student Union, he saw a wall of flyers for student events.

“These flyers are telling everyone at Denison that you belong here,” he said. “Because you belong here, here is an open invitation. That’s how you build community. Community is important on any college campus… but it is absolutely front and center here.”

Hall’s own positive undergraduate experience motivated him to make sure every student has the best experience possible. 

He understands that despite all of Denison’s programming, some students still struggle to feel like they belong on campus.

“If you feel this way, come see me, come talk to me, don’t hesitate,” he said. “This door is always open, and if I’m back to back with meetings, I can always find time for a conversation at the very least. And not to sell a student on the university, but at least to come to a better understanding of what their experience has been to this point.”