Meet the Staff
Rick Sawyer
Vice President for Student Affairs and
Dean of Student Life
Rick Sawyer is the senior student affairs officer for the campus. He is charged with the responsibility for the quality of undergraduate and graduate student life outside of the classroom.
As vice president, he serves as a close associate to Jean Eddy, Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment, and directly oversees several departments in the Division of Students and Enrollment: the Dean of Student Life staff; Community Service; Residence Life; Student Activities; Student Development and Conduct; the Intercultural Center; Graduate Student Services; Orientation and First Year Programs; Athletics; Chaplains; Health Services; and the Psychological Counseling Center.
As dean of student life, Dean Sawyer is the senior advocate for students and the programs and services provided to them. Dean Sawyer also has institutional level responsibility for student judicial procedures and advises the university regarding immediate actions necessary to assure the well being of a student or students.
Jamele Adams
Associate Dean of Student Life
Jamele Adams oversees Student Activities, the Intercultural Center, Community Service and the Chaplaincy. He works with campus groups to promote and enhance opportunities to celebrate diversity in our daily lives at Brandeis. Dean Adams develops programs and activities to support involvement in the larger community and afford Brandeis students the opportunity to practice social justice and change in the real world, in support of the lessons provided in our classrooms. In addition to this he oversees the Community Predjudice Response Taskforce.
Dean Adams completed his undergraduate studies at Penn State and completed his master's degree at Bowling Green State University. He is also a celebrated poet.
Maggie Balch
Associate Dean of Student Life
Maggie Balch oversees the departments of Residence Life, Student Development and Conduct and Orientation and First-Year Programs. She also directs programming for the University Merit Scholars as well as sitting on various campus committees.
Dean Balch completed her undergraduate studies at Penn State University, and completed her master's degree at the University of Connecticut. She worked at Washington University in St. Louis, Indiana University and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth before joining Brandeis.
Sarah Hogan-Crowley
Executive Administrator
Sarah Hogan-Crowley provides support for the staff in the Dean's Office. She maintains division Web sites, serves on various committees and performs "other duties, as assigned."
Sarah holds a Bachelor's degree in Corporate Communications from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. Prior to coming to Brandeis, she taught software and was a project manager for an automated publishing company. She joined Brandeis in the Department of Residence Life and worked there for almost five years before joining the Dean's Office.