Student Success Champion Profile - Jamie White, M.A.
Across the past 18 years at Ohio State’s Newark campus, Jamie White has supported and promoted student success, first as an assistant and now as an Associate Faculty member and Director of Retention and Student Success Initiatives in Newark’s Center for Student Success. Ms. White and her team not only provide proactive and holistic support to individual students, but also work to address larger systemic barriers to student success.
From creating learning communities, to providing emergency grants, to assessing data reports, each day is a busy one in the Office of Retention & Student Success Initiatives. Each of the Office’s special projects and initiatives is grounded in data and assessed over time. For example, one study explored the needs of students who are identified as English language learners, and identified ways in which the Center could improve their support of these students, including creating a new position for additional targeted support and being more transparent about the resources available to students. Another study focused on optimizing an intervention for students on academic probation, for which Ms. White and her colleague won the 2023 Institutional Research Leadership in Student Retention Award from the Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange. The Office continues to grow its programs and supports and is looking forward to completion of renovations to its home building, which will allow the Office to create a more centralized location for students to access all the Office’s staff and resources.
Across her time at the university, Ms. White has received many other recognitions for her work, including the 2015 Distinguished Staff Award. As part of her commitment to food security, in 2017 Ms. White and a colleague established the Campus Corner: Student Food Pantry to ensure that no Newark student has to choose between essentials such as food and paying for the cost of college. During the early months of the pandemic as food insecurity spiked, Ms. White kept the Pantry open by creating an online ordering and curbside pickup service. Today, Ms. White continues giving back to the local community by serving on the board of directors of the Food Pantry Network of Licking County.
Ms. White finds motivation and encouragement in serving and mentoring others, and is particularly proud of past students who have now become coworkers, and who pass on their experiences and supports to new students. As the Office continues to expand new initiatives, she hopes it can be a source for knowledge for not just the Newark campus but across the campuses, as collaborations with colleagues around the University are key to removing systemic barriers to student success.
“I continue to connect with students. It allows me the opportunity to really stay grounded in my work.”
When asked about her advice for students, Ms. White encourages them to do three things. First, to be their own strongest advocate. Second, to take full advantage of the many available resources as early as possible to set themselves up for success. And finally, to put themselves out there to truly and fully engage in all the opportunities around them.
Photo 1: From left to right - Coryn Gonzales, Jamie White, and Khadijah Mbai.
Photo 2: Study abroad trip to Wales in front of the world's smallest house.