Dr. Pat Whitely accepted a job at UM 30 years ago, and she has quickly climbed the corporate ladder since she first set foot on campus.
On June 1, she celebrated her 15th year as vice president for student affairs.
Dr. Whitely, originally from Port Washington, N.Y., was hired in 1982 as the residence coordinator of Stanford Residential College. Later, she served as the assistant director of the University Center. Before being promoted to vice president for student affairs, she was named director of student life and the UC, and held that position for three years.
Her current post has an immense influence on campus. Her responsibilities are seemingly infinite. They include overseeing a staff of 120, managing a budget of more than $40 million, and overall supervising policy development that impacts more than 15,000 students.
The position was created at UM in 1965, and was held by Dr. William R. Butler until he retired 32 years later. In June 1997, former UM President Edward T. Foote II announced that Dr. Whitely would succeed Butler as the vice president for student affairs.
Her body of work at UM has not gone unnoticed, despite her humility. Most recently, the Student Government (SG) executive branch at UM created an award in her honor. This year, SG presented the award to Dr. Whitely, on the merit of her leadership and dedication for her work.
The award – titled the Patricia A. Whitely Unsung Hero Award – will be presented during the annual UM SG banquet to a member who “goes above and beyond his or her responsibilities,” without expecting credit.
Dr. Whitely served as an SG vice president during her years in college.
Consequently, she works hard to foster ties with campus leaders.
Recently, Dr. Whitely received another honor from the student affairs administrators in higher education (NASPA) to recognize her outstanding performance as a senior officer in her region.
Dr. Whitely received her Bachelor of Science degree in management, with minors in economics and theology, from St. John’s University. She commuted to school all four years she attended college, and has worked closely to develop more programming to cater to commuters’ needs.
“We’ve been able to change the commuter experience so that it’s very positive,” she said.
Still, among her list of main goals is to “have a presence on campus,” she said.
She parks in Pavia Garage, and walks to her office so students can see her and get to know her.
She hopes she can help students achieve academic success.
“We want to make sure we provide support for students so that they may be academically successful,” Dr. Whitely said.
Dr. Whitely also holds a Master of Education in student personnel services from the University of South Carolina, and a Doctor of Education Degree in higher education administration from the University of Miami.
Dr. Whitely was asked to give advice to incoming freshmen and the undergraduate student population as a whole.
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