Adrian College promotes Thomas Doney to dean of students

ADRIAN — Adrian College has promoted its assistant dean of students to be dean of students.

Thomas Doney had been serving the college as its assistant dean of students since January.

Doney graduated from Adrian College in May 2018 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in management and accepted a job with the college the following November as the student life coordinator, where he performed duties including planning campuswide activities during the school year. He also functioned as an adviser for four campus organizations and planned Welcome Week orientation and activities for approximately 650 new students.

He then earned his Master of Arts in higher education administration and leadership at AC in the spring of 2021.

When the dean of students position became available, Adrian College Vice President of Admissions and Enrollment Frank Hribar said Doney was the first person he thought of to fill the role.

“Thomas fits the bill, perfectly,” Hribar said in a news release. “He is an Adrian College Bulldog, through and through, being an alum. His work ethic and dedication to this institution is what made him the perfect candidate for the position.”

In August 2020, Doney accepted the additional duties of being Adrian College’s Title IX coordinator, educating the campus community on proactive programming to prevent sexual assault and harassment. He reviewed all formal complaints on campus.

As a student, he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE). The fraternity’s motto is “Better Men for a Better World.” Doney said TKE inspired him to become a substitute teacher/coach with Professional Educational Services Group after earning his bachelor’s degree, where, the release said, he instructed classes for kindergarten-12th grades and assisted high school football coaching.

Doney was a first generation college student from Dearborn Heights who received the Michigan Tuition Grant. He lives in Adrian and plans on making the area his longterm residence. He is engaged with Adrian native Ashley Oram, a 2019 Adrian College alumna.

As dean of students, he is able to offer solid advice and help others who are in similar situations, the release said.

“We have open door policies across campus,” Doney said. “You can’t get that at big universities.

“I want our department to be there for all of the student organizations and help them grow, ” he added. “Going through everything with COVID, numbers are down for organizations, and overall campus involvement has been down for a couple of years. We saw a nice uptick last year with everything getting back to normal, so we want to continue building on that momentum, getting students involved and offering them the support they need to have fun outside the classroom. That’s my main goal.”

After receiving his undergraduate degree, Doney emailed AC President Jeffrey Docking to let him know he was interested in staying and working on campus.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m here,” Doney said in the release. “The fact that I was able to email the president and he offered me a job shows you the tight-knit community we have here.

“I love it here,” he added. “I’ve had a chance to see Adrian College through all stages as I worked my way up.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Thomas Doney named new dean of students at Adrian College