UC Dean of Students Traces Student-Focused Career Path to RA Days

When Denine Rocco became a resident advisor in her college dorm, she was just 19 years old. The Pennsylvania native learned how to keep her floor-mates in line and forged lifelong friendships. But she never imagined how big a role campus life would play in her personal and professional future.

“I wasn’t one of those students who had a clear path,” said Rocco, UC’s new dean of students and assistant vice president. Still, the more time she spent in the world of higher education and gained leadership experience, the more she realized she didn’t want to leave it.

She discovered her passion for understanding the diversity of the college student experience as well as the importance of the spaces in which students’ lives intersect.

“Everyone has their story,” she said.

Building programs, supporting students

Rocco liked telling and sharing stories so much that she earned a degree in speech communication at Pennsylvania’s Edinboro University. But the RA experience led her to get her master’s degree in higher education administration at the University of Pittsburgh, where she held her first professional job as director of residence life.

It was a big job that Rocco relished. “I was 24 when I built my first building,” she said of establishing a new residence hall at the University of Pittsburgh in Greensburg.

Rocco takes pride in her ability to build, and building programs and services for college students comes naturally. Her father worked as a high school principal, her mother graduated at the top of her class, and Rocco served as a high-school student government leader. Her older sister now works as a counselor after working as a teacher.

“I grew up in a family of educators,” she said. “Education was important.”

After eight years in Pittsburgh, Rocco took the role of dean of students and associate vice president at Akron, where she worked for more than a decade. At the northeastern Ohio school, she not only oversaw residence life, she also served as deputy Title IX coordinator and chaired the school’s crisis intervention team.

“Bringing Denine to Cincinnati really deepens our Title IX expertise,” said Debra Merchant, vice president of Student Affairs and Services. “We are lucky to have someone who has served so many different roles and who is so committed to policy development as well as working with students.”

From Akron to Cincinnati

In Rocco’s office, as-yet-unpacked boxes hint at how busy her days have been since she relocated to the Clifton campus in the fall. The move appealed to her because of UC’s size and focus.

“The more I learned about UC, the more attracted I was by the energy and history of diversity here,” Rocco said. “I followed President Ono on Twitter and was impressed by the work being done here.”

A wide range of responsibilities falls in Rocco’s domain, from the Bearcat Band to residence education and development, university judicial affairs and the Gen-1 Theme House.

She sees a big part of her job as institutionalizing pride, a task that dovetails well with UC’s current review of the policies and procedures that govern students’ school lives.

“I’m excited to be here,” she said.

Follow Rocco on Twitter (@DenineRocco) or Instagram (http://instagram.com/deninerocco)