Leadership Team : Student Life

Javaune Adams-Gaston, Ph.D. Vice President for Student Life

3034 Ohio Union, 1739 N. High Street, Columbus, OH 43210
(614) 292-9334
adams-gaston.1@osu.edu

Javaune, or Dr. J, as she is affectionately called, oversees the operations of the Office of Student Life and its constituent departments. She has broad leadership responsibility for numerous university operations affecting students outside the classroom, including residence halls, food service, the Ohio Union and student activities, student leadership development, mental health counseling, career direction, recreational sports, health care and wellness programs, disability services, the Multicultural Center, off-campus student services, the student judicial process, and student advocacy and crisis intervention. She represents Student Life in the university's senior administration and provides leadership on issues affecting students.

Javaune came to Ohio State in January 2009 as Vice President for Student Life from the University of Maryland, where she had served in a variety of administrative and faculty positions since 1985. Her experience included serving as associate dean of academic affairs, assistant athletic director, and equity administrator. A licensed psychologist, she also was a member of the graduate faculty at Maryland.

She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2009 Diamond Honoree Award from the ACPA-College Student Educators, the highest honor of the America College Personnel Association, which recognized her transformative contributions to the field. The award cited her relationally centered approach, commitment to diversity and inclusivity, and desire to help others reach their fullest potential.

Javaune has a bachelor's degree in biology, psychology and general science and a master's degree in applied psychology, and she also earned a Ph.D. in psychology from Iowa State University.

Xen Riggs Associate Vice President for Student Life

Suite 1030, 555 Borror Drive, Columbus, OH 43210
(614) 292-3231
riggs.44@osu.edu

Xen oversees The Jerome Schottenstein Center, the Fawcett Center, the Blackwell, and the Drake Conference and Event Center. He also has responsibility for various special projects, including management of large campus events and negotiation of some contracts and licensing agreements. Xen received bachelor's degrees in business management and speech and drama from Anderson University. He has worked at Ohio State since 1997. Before coming to Ohio State, Xen worked for a management company that handled musical artists, as well as at Anderson University, Illinois State, Kellogg Arena, and University of Illinois.

Connie Boehm Director, Student Wellness Center

B130 RPAC, 337 W. 17th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210
(614) 688-4458
boehm.19@osu.edu

Connie leads Ohio State's student wellness efforts, which provide educational programs and services to individuals and groups. She holds a B.S. in social work from Manchester College and an M.A. in college student personnel administration from Ball State University. She has worked for more than 25 years in residence life and wellness, and she joined Ohio State in Student Life in 1996.

Dave Isaacs Manager, Communication and Media Relations

2029 Ohio Union, 1739 N. High Street, Columbus, OH 43210
(614) 292-8424
isaacs.84@osu.edu

Dave handles news media inquiries to the Office of Student Life along with other communications duties. He joined the university in 2012 after serving as Communications Director at the Ohio House of Representatives. Prior to that, he spent a number of years as a broadcast journalist, including news management positions at news radio stations in Columbus, Ohio, Grand Rapids and Detroit Michigan, and Houston and Austin Texas. Dave is a Columbus native, and received his B.A. from Denison University.

James R. Jacobs, M.D., Ph.D. Director of Student Health Services

Wilce Student Health Center, 1875 Millikin Road, Columbus, OH 43210
(614) 292-4321
jacobs.736@osu.edu

Dr. Jacobs provides administrative leadership for Student Health Services and the Wilce Student Health Center. He also maintains a limited clinical practice at Wilce, with special interests in men's health, wound care, ADHD, and anxiety. Dr. Jacobs received the Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the M.D. from Duke University. He is Board certified in emergency medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He joined Ohio State in 2009, having spent the previous six years at Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY.

Lance Kennedy-Phillips, Ph.D. Executive Director, Center for the Study of Student Life

1150 Lincoln Tower, 1800 Cannon Drive, Columbus, OH 43210
(614) 247-6225
kennedy-phillips.1@osu.edu

Lance leads outcomes-based assessment activities for the Office of Student Life. He conducts research on all aspects of the student experience at Ohio State. Lance earned B.A. in sociology from Eastern Illinois University, and holds a master's degree in student affairs administration and a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Before coming to Ohio State, Lance spent six years working in institutional research at DePaul University and the University of Florida. He joined Ohio State and Student Life in June 2008.

Micky M. Sharma, Psy.D. Director, Counseling and Consultation Service

4th Floor, Younkin Success Center, 1640 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210
(614) 292-5766
sharma.369@osu.edu

Micky is responsible for vision, leadership, and administrative direction for Counseling and Consultation Services, which has 22 mental health staff members and 20-25 multidisciplinary mental health interns, fellows, and advanced graduate practicum students, who provide a full range of mental health and substance abuse services to Ohio State students. He joined the Student Life team in September 2011, bringing experience from his previous positions as executive director of the Counseling and Student Development Center at Northern Illinois University (2007-2011) and associate director of Counseling and Wellness Services at Wright State University (2000-2007). Micky received his B.S in psychology from the University of Dayton, and his Psy.D. in clinical psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology/Chicago Campus.

Donald Stenta, Ph.D. Director, Department of Recreational Sports

B106 RPAC, 337 West 17th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210
(614) 688-4738
stenta.1@osu.edu

Don leads one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive recreational sports and fitness departments, with five indoor locations and more than 70 acres of outdoor space. Headquartered in the new state-of-the-art Recreation and Physical Activity Center (RPAC), Recreational Sports offers students, faculty, staff, and alumni drop-in fitness and recreation, class instruction, aquatics, intramurals and sports clubs, adventure trips, personal training, and more. Don earned his bachelor’s degree at Binghamton University, his master’s degree at the University of Vermont, and his Ph.D. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Ohio State. He began his career in Student Life as a residence hall director at Ohio State and held a number of successively more responsible positions before taking faculty appointments in the John Glenn School of Public Policy and Public Service and the College of Education and Human Ecology in 2005. He returned to Student Life on April 1, 2011, to direct the Department of Recreational Sports.

Kellie Uhrig Senior Director, Strategic Communications & Relationships

2029 Ohio Union, 1739 N. High Street, Columbus, OH 43210
(614) 292-5944
uhrig.3@osu.edu

Kellie oversees strategic communication efforts across all Student Life departments and acts as a liaison to internal and external partners. Kellie earned a B.S. in business administration from Ohio State. Before joining the Student Life staff in 2008, she was director of marketing and branding for The Columbus Dispatch.

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