Zenith Shrestha
Staff Writer
Pawan Khanal
Staff Writer
Since he came to Troy University as a student in 1980, Herbert Reeves has continuously served the Trojan family from a variety of positions. In 2004, he was appointed to his current position, dean of student services, where he has advocated for the success of all students.
Reeves said his office exists to serve students in various capacities.
“Just like our name, student services, our mission is to serve the students, and we try to help with all the operations that we have,” Reeves said. “It doesn’t have to be a student services issue; if a student does not know where to seek help, they can come here.”
The dean has also been known to be very receptive to complaints regarding issues on campus and taking quick actions to solve problems.
“I think those who engage on campus make the most of the college experience,” Reeves said. “Student Services are concerned with asking questions like, ‘What are we not offering or providing them?’”
Since his days as a student, Reeves has been a resident director, the coordinator of men’s housing and the director of housing before he became a dean.
In his career, Reeves has seen his fair share of growth and changes throughout his student and professional career, including the transition of Troy State University to Troy University. One of the biggest changes Reeves comments on is the growth in both the student population and activities.
“Back then when I was a student, the weekends were extremely quiet, and now there are activities going on 24 hours, seven days a week,” Reeves said. “Our enrollment growth has doubled and then some.”
The physical aspects of the university have also changed tremendously with Reeves working together with the other divisions of the campus.
“During Dr. Hawkins’ administraion, and with his vision, we have seen tremendous growth in facilities in academics, student services and athletics,” Reeves said. “Things I have seen and been a part of since I first started here are renovations and constructions of many of the facilities here.”
These include the renovations of Shackleford, Pace, Cowart and Clements halls and the construction of Trojan Village, Newman and Rushing halls, as well as Trojan Center gym and Elm Street gym.
Currently, the dean and his office are working on the construction of the new long-awaited rec center and look forward to renovations of the other, older facilities.
“I think (the Rec Center is) going to be a huge addition to the campus which the students can use on weekends and nights,” Reeves said. “We have some renovation plans for the Trojan Center facility, and Gardner and Hamil are still out there that we want to do.”
The Office of Student Services, under Dean Reeves, is also responsible for most of the university facilities on campus including student housing and access, health center, counseling center, transportation, university police and recreation facilities.
“The health center has gotten a lot better under his care,” said Maria Frigge, the international student adviser.
The office is also involved in event management, conference services, student involvement leadership and Substance Abuse, Outreach and Intervention program. The University Activities Council, which hosts an event almost every Wednesday, is also a part of the Office of Student Services.
“Apart from his help on physical construction, he works more with the emotional factors in residence life like dealing with bullying and other serious issues,” said Sudeep Neupane, the residence director at Gardner Hall and a junior computer science major from Butwal, Nepal.
Reeves also works very closely with International Student Services.
“He loves international students, I can tell you that,” said Vivian Muorah, a sophomore nursing major from Lagos, Nigeria, who works in the Office of Student Services.
The dean’s office supports a lot of the programs including the 3 for 30 trips, orientation, housing and shuttles to banks and Walmart.
“We just started monthly shuttles to Montgomery, which we are trying to push for this semester,” Frigge said. “We’ve had students show concern about not having a way to get to Montgomery, and this is our way of helping with that.”
Frigge further explained that these provisions are for all students.
“We’re trying to integrate as much as we can and provide services to both domestic and international students,” Frigge said. “We are always looking for ways to help, so he is a great advocate for international students.”
Reeves was also instrumental in providing a recreational outlet in the early days of Troy for international students.
“He has done a good job with intramurals and with trying to cater to some of the international students and their needs,” Frigge said. “We started sports night on Fridays a couple of years ago to give international students a place to play badminton because nowhere did they have nets set up.
“This eventually led to the formation of the Badminton Club that many international students adore with over 40 students always eager to play.”
“When I first came here there were only 40 international students; now we have 800-900 international students,” Reeves said. “You can see the growth just looking at that.”
“I enjoy working with students, and that’s what keeps me here,” Reeves said. “We might have a few problems here and there, but nothing we can’t seem to work out.
The Office of Student Services can be found in Room 231 of the Trojan Center, and anyone can set up an appointment to meet with Reeves.
