Dave O’Guinn says nothing has felt more natural to him than moving from being IU’s chief litigation counsel to becoming the new Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at IU Bloomington.
As an undergraduate at DePauw University, one of his mentors was the director of student activities, and he was a union board member as a freshman, progressing on to hold a position on the union board’s executive board. His deans and mentors there had gone to IU for graduate school, which played a role in O’Guinn going to graduate school in Bloomington as well.
“I had a passion for being involved in student activities and what I learned at DePauw was that what I really loved was planning events that weren’t parties and that gave students something to do besides going out and drinking,” O’Guinn recalled.
While working on a master’s degree in higher education from IU’s School of Education, he completed a practicum under former IMU assistant director Mark Guthier. Next, O’Guinn pursued juris doctorate degree from the University of Notre Dame, where he was a special assistant to that school’s student union director.
O’Guinn landed his first job out of school planning special events as Quinnipiac College’s Assistant Director of the Student Center and Student Activities. He then moved on to Centre College in Kentucky to become its Director of Student Activities and Greek Life.
After a stint in private practice, O’Guinn came on board at IU in 2007 as associate general counsel, was named chief litigation counsel in 2014, and began his new role as vice provost in May 2018.
“I believe we have the greatest union in the world, and I’m proud that my office is here,” he said. “It’s an honor for me to come to the union every day, and I never lose sight of that.”
One of the challenges facing O’Guinn and his staff is taking the rich history and traditions of Indiana Memorial Union and keeping the union experience relevant for today’s student. “How do we keep the IMU as the living room of our campus? It’s certainly my goal to keep it that way, and I’m looking forward to working closely with Hank to keep it that way,” O’Guinn said.
One major step already taken to strengthen student ties to the IMU has been to merge work done by the former office of Student Life and Learning and IMU Activities and Events to create the Student Involvement and Leadership Center. The office includes leadership and community engagement programs, the university food pantry, and student organizations, including Union Board.
“It’s just awesome that all of this is now being brought into the union,” he said. “This is a major move for the union as an attraction for students.”
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