By JULIA WILLIAMS
Contributing Writer
Behind the courses and faculty that make up the School of Arts and Humanities is an Assistant to the Dean—a woman who is dedicated to providing a strong foundation for the program. Usually when people think of college programs, the first things that come to mind are the courses, professors and the students. Sometimes they forget to include the staff members who help hold these programs together behind the scenes.
Consider Melanie Bowman, the assistant to the dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at the College of Saint Rose. In addition, Bowman is the director of the Pre-College Experience at Saint Rose. Although these two jobs are distinct, Bowman balances them well.
Bowman primarily works for the Arts and Humanities Program. In this versatile line of work, Bowman handles the financial data. This is not the easiest task, but problem solving is one of Bowman’s strong suits. Bowman also directs the Pre-College Experience, which takes place during the summer. She has a team that helps her with the program that has been evolving over the past six to eight years. The program consists of high school students who come to Saint Rose in the summer to study topics such as visual arts or criminal justice for two weeks.
Working on a college campus may seem a bit intimidating for some, but for Bowman, the outcome has been life changing and promising. After she, her husband and their two children moved to upstate New York from Boston, Bowman did part-time work for a few years.
During her search for a more permanent job, she stumbled across a Saint Rose ad in a newspaper and took an interest. Bowman met with Human Resources at Saint Rose, who at the time offered free tuition for her kids. However, the offer was not the only thing that attracted Bowman to Saint Rose. She said that she fell in love with the school because of the good vibe.
As a business major with a concentration in management, Bowman worked at Saint Rose and took classes simultaneously. After completing her studies, Bowman graduated in 2011. She feels as though she definitely fits in with the Saint Rose community and said it has a “home-like feel.”
Bowman said that her work environment is warm, sometimes calm and sometimes hectic, but always collegial. Diversity is the quality that Bowman enjoys most about her job.
“I get to do different things all the time,” she said. She has fun working with different groups of people like faculty members, students and administrators.
Lisa Lewis, the administrative secretary of the School of Arts and Humanities at Saint Rose, described Bowman as “hardworking and pleasant.” Melanie “tries to get things done in a timely fashion whenever possible… She is always looking for a new way to make the workflow easier,” said Lewis.
For 15 years, Bowman has had great success working at Saint Rose. Coming from a large family has helped prepare her for what she does now. The sense of community Bowman has shows in her professional performance during an average day at Saint Rose.
“It is Melanie’s unflappable nature, incredible optimism and creativity, as well as, her ambition, kindness, and tenacity that are at the root of her success at Saint Rose,” said Kristine Tolmie, the associate professor and chair at the Center for Art and Design at Saint Rose. “Melanie’s tenure in the Dean’s Office is one of the reasons that the School of Arts and Humanities is as productive as it is.”
Aside from work, Bowman enjoys spending time with her three grandchildren, hiking with her husband and sewing.
Bowman attributes her success on the job to her organizational skills and effective verbal and written communication. She always tells young people to, first of all, go to college and study what they love if it’s possible.
Applying the skills she learned while obtaining her business degree, Bowman takes pleasure in working for the School of Arts and Humanities. She believes that the program is creative and the faculty members are kind and always helpful. “If you were to say to me, ‘how about constructive criticism,” I wouldn’t know what to say,” Bowman said.
