Harvard Law School Names Stephen L. Ball New Dean of Students | News

Harvard Regulation University tapped Stephen L. Ball, a senior vice president at Wells Fargo, as its new dean of college students very last month. Ball is the to start with Black male to keep the title at HLS.

Ball, who also served as an adjunct professor at Speed College and a contributing writer for Black Enterprise Magazine, is liable for selling the properly-currently being of the approximately 2,000 pupils attending HLS. He took office environment March 7 and oversees scholar help and programming, preparation for the Bar application method, and important campus events these as orientation and graduation.

He succeeds former Dean of Students Marcia L. Sells, who stepped down from the put up in February 2021.

Ball mentioned his mom, who labored as a lawful secretary, influenced him to enter the law occupation. He credits his mom with helping him discover how to compose and converse very well.

“I assume a great deal of times when you might be growing up, people cite an argumentative streak as indicative of future strengths and skills in conditions of starting to be an attorney,” Ball claimed. “I keep in mind her citing that a little bit early on, specifically in my adolescent yrs. So she form of planted the seed.”

Soon after graduating from Harvard Regulation University in 2010, Ball worked throughout the personal sector. All through his time at Wells Fargo, he formulated a cross-organization, built-in system to guidance historically Black schools and universities and Hispanic-serving establishments, which he explained prepared him for his new position at HLS.

“This notion of empathetic management, and staying able to disagree respectfully with no personalizing factors — all all those factors, to me, product leadership,” Ball stated. “The HBCUs do a wonderful position of constructing that in their students.”

Ball mentioned the Legislation College can glance to the methods HBCUs offer their college students and integrate similar strategies on HLS’ campus.

“We do not have any firm programs about this but, but I know that HBCUs, for example, numerous of them supply a campus closet to their learners to use for interviewing for work,” Ball said. “Maybe there are elements of that strategy that so a lot of of the HBCUs have and have accomplished well. Perhaps there are things that we could replicate right here on a more compact scale.”

Reflecting on his hopes for his tenure, Ball mentioned that he would like to boost the “user experience” at HLS and enhance the sum of aid and range of occasions available by the Dean of Pupils Business.

He also claimed he is keen to begin “rebranding the Dean of Learners Workplace as additional than a vacation spot for disciplinary issues.”

“When you also have own difficulties, and you will need assist — possibly you need to have to acquire a personalized depart, probably there are any quantity of other things — wherever you’re searching for advice and aid as a college student, that is when we exhibit up,” he stated.

For Ball, Harvard’s mission has often been intertwined with community support, his individual extended-time personalized passion. On his admissions letter for law faculty, Ball been given a personal take note about his motivation to public provider all through his youth, which he wrote about in his application.

“I seriously appreciated just the diversity of vocation paths that Harvard affords,” Ball reported.

“My occupation has meandered a little bit, in a very good way,” he stated. “For the previous, I would say, few legs of the journey I have had, they’ve been extremely a great deal aligned with that public assistance ethic that I commenced with.”

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–Staff Author Anne M. Brandes can be reached at [email protected]. Stick to her on Twitter at @annebrandes1