Stephanie Gravel | Courtesy
After arriving at Hillsdale College more than 20 years ago as the associate volleyball coach, Stephanie Gravel has left the court and found a new home on the third floor of Central Hall. Gravel has become the associate dean of women and will continue to fulfill her responsibilities as a student health liaison.
“I’m definitely excited for this new challenge,” Gravel said. “I love mentoring and helping students, and I’m excited about cultivating resilience within the student body.”
Gravel’s arrival coincides with a reshuffling of roles in the dean of women’s office, as former Associate Dean of Women Rebekah Dell has become the dean of women. Diane Philipp will continue to serve as vice president of student affairs, a job she previously performed while also serving as dean of women.
Even though Gravel will not be on the volleyball court as a coach for the upcoming season, she said that she will continue to help out with the team when she can, as her husband Chris Gravel is the head volleyball coach. Gravel said the team brought on Taylor Wiese ’20 last fall to help in the volleyball office, and Wiese has filled in for her over the past several months.
“Last semester, COVID pulled me away in a big way, and I relied on her to teach my class and do things that I usually do for the volleyball team,” Gravel said. “The hope is that she’ll take over my role on the volleyball team.”
Philipp said the dean’s office decided to add a new associate dean to the staff due to the amount of work it wants to accomplish with students.
“In the deans’ office, our goal is to assist our students in whatever they need to perform well in the classroom and to organize and promote activities outside the classroom,” Philipp said in an email. “We strive to help our students grow intellectually, socially, emotionally, faithfully, and morally. With Mrs. Gravel added to our team, we know we can accomplish our mission even better.”
Even with changes to the staff, Philipp said she will continue to meet with students, as that is what she enjoys the most about her work. Additionally, Philipp said she will continue her administrative duties, but hiring Gravel gives the office more flexibility.
“Adding another person to our team will give all of us more time to meet with students and to develop programs that will give our students a wonderful college experience,” Philipp said.
Dell echoed Philipp and reiterated that students will not see much shift in how both she and Philipp work with the student body. The change gives all staff members more time for students, and Dell said she hopes the office can accommodate more walk-ins.
“This change is exciting for our office, and I would encourage students to create more connections with our office,” Dell said. “We hope and desire that students take advantage of the new accessibility of our office.”
In her new position, Gravel said she will continue to work with Associate Dean of Men Jeffery “Chief” Rogers to meet campus needs that arise from COVID-19.
“Chief and I are still going to be working quite a bit on COVID—hopefully less this semester—and roll with as it comes,” Gravel said. “Our primary goal with all of this is keeping the students in class.”
Gravel said she and Rogers will do their best to make sure everyone stays happy, safe, and healthy with the goal of having students attend in-person classes.
Philipp said Gravel did an incredible job assisting with campus COVID needs last semester, and Philipp is confident in her abilities to work with the deans’ office.
“She is organized, hard-working, personable, and a lot of fun,” Philipp said. “As a coach, she has extensive experience working closely with students, parents, and faculty.”
Last semester, Gravel said she enjoyed getting to know the various personalities on campus as a student health liaison. Now, she will have a greater opportunity to foster relationships with students on campus.
Dell said Gravel has a warmth and welcoming demeanor that will allow students to be comfortable quickly.
“She’ll be taking what she’s learned as a coach and applying it to all female students,” Dell said. “This is a very streamlined move from athletics to the dean’s office. As a coach, you’re working with a team of 14, but this change is going to challenge her to grow in the number of students she works with.”
Senior volleyball player Maddie Clark said Gravel, or “Steph,” helped her develop as a player and a person by being her coach and acting as a mom for the team. Clark said Gravel’s positive energy helped her on and off the court.
“She is a very positive yet real person,” Clark said. “She sees a task from beginning to end and is always willing to lend a helping hand. Steph is one of the hardest workers I know.”
Clark said she will miss seeing Gravel at practices as often but is grateful Gravel will still be on campus.
“I’m excited to see what changes she brings to her new position,” Clark said. “Steph is ambitious and I think she is going to thrive in her new position.”
Gravel will be working closely with Executive Secretary to the Dean of Women Carolyn Milligan to meet housing needs, and she anticipates assisting with student employment and leading tours for large groups of prospective students.
Gravel said she loves coaching and will always be part of her players’ lives but looks forward to helping more of the student body. As she continues to learn more about her responsibilities as associate dean of women, Gravel said she will figure everything out as she goes.
“I’m pretty much just going to throw myself into the role and learn as I go,” Gravel said. “I want the student body to know I’m here to help in any way possible. I want to be a source that they can come to at any time.”