Meet Anne Hopkins Gross!

What is your current position at the Southern Vermont College?

Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students

What do you love about working at Southern Vermont College? 

The students!  We have a rich diversity of students, which makes a rich work experience.  It has also been a wonderful experience working at the Cabinet level to move an institution forward while keeping the students at the center of the work I/we do.

When you aren’t working, how do you spend your free time? 

I enjoy spending time with my family – hiking, kayaking, hanging out.  I have three kids (Patrick, Mackenzie, and Catherine), my husband (Glen), and our dog, Metrie.  Now that I’ve just finished my doctorate from New England College, I am really happy to be getting back to having more quality time with them.  I’m also looking forward to writing, cooking, and sewing … I enjoy sewing clothes.

Who inspired you to get involved in Higher Education?

Rae Trachman Perry, who was my supervisor when I was an undergrad at The College of New Jersey.  She was inspirational! Rae now works at UMass Lowell.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your career (so far)? 

• Be willing to look at things with a different lens – be flexible in one’s thinking to come to a solution
• Change comes from within
• Don’t take things personally
• Breathe and be in the moment

What is on your Higher Ed bucket list? 

The subject of my doctorate was student affairs professionals and how to create positive changes in the brain to regulate attention, emotion, and cognition in order to create a more peaceful and productive work environment.  I co-presented workshops with Marilee Bresciani Ludvik at regional and national NASPA and ACPA conferences.  I plan on continuing this work and publishing the results of my dissertation.  It’s also important for me to share this research with students, which can help them destress and persist at college and beyond.  While not in higher ed, but on my bucket list, I’d also like to extend this work to parents of children with autism (another topic near and dear to me).

What advice would you offer to new professionals who are starting their first professional position?

Same as the lessons I’ve learned:

• Be willing to look at things with a different lens – be flexible in one’s thinking to come to a solution
• Change comes from within
• Don’t take things personally
• Breathe and be in the moment