Dr. Ken Peress was hired last month as the new Vice President of Student Affairs.  He comes to Lake State with many years of experience, extending all the way back to when he served as an RA in college.  Dr. Peress has worked at several private and public universities, in a number of positions, such as Associate Dean of Students for Campus Life at Susquehanna University; Director of Housing at CW Post University, a branch of Long Island University and his most recent job as Dean of Students at Wilmington College.  Dr. Peress has a masters degree in counseling from Bridgeport University and a doctorate in Higher Ed. Management from Penn State.
Dr. Peress would like to see Lake State develop a more active and vibrant residential community and sees the diverse programs brought in by the programming board as a good beginning. He would also like to see us grow in numbers; filling all residential halls and added that he is aware that some halls need upgrades, so that is something to be worked on.  He hopes to see more school spirit, stating that he cant believe we dont fill up the hockey rink.  Service learning projects and more interaction with academics is also an area he hopes to improve.  Dr. Peress explained that he tends to move on to different universities after 6-8 years, after accomplishing the goals he set for himself at the school. He stated that Lake State attracted him because of the number of programs that attract interesting students, such as Robotics, Fire Science, and Nursing. Also, the number of first generation college students appealed to him, as did the fact that the university sees the importance of dedicating efforts to Student Affairs, as opposed to filling the position with someone who has other duties outside of Student Affairs.
When asked what exactly his job entails, Dr. Peress joked, If its not for the physical plant, athletic, or academic, Im probably involved. He added that he deals with the co-curricular life of students and to support the academic mission; give students the chance to experience learning opportunities, such as through service learning; and to engage people in dialogue so we, as a community, can come together. It was with that in mind that he asked Dr. Youngblood if his office could be located closer to students.  There arent, as he explained, many students in the Administration building, and he wanted the opportunity to easily engage and communicate with students.  His office is located in the Student Life office in Cisler.  Students can contact him via email, at kperess@lssu.edu; telephone, at 635-2634; or stopping by his office. He added that he often eats lunch in the QD and can be found at most athletic events and is always happy to talk to students.  

