DR. SIDNEY CHILD
Right @ Home
“When I stepped on this campus, I knew this was where I was meant to be”
– Dr . Sidney Childs
Interim Vice President for Student Affairs
Some people come to Bowling Green State University to get an education. But for some, the city of Bowling Green is a place they never want to leave.
Dr. Sidney Childs is the interim vice president for the Division of Student Affairs at Bowling Green State University and has stuck around this town long enough to amass three degrees from the university and a career in student affairs that spans several decades and has helped tens of thousands of students.
But despite his smooth, conversational tone that manages to hit all of the necessary buzzwords for student affairs professionals even while maintaining a casual conversation, Childs didn’t always see himself working in student affairs.
Childs came to the university as an undergrad from Orville, Ohio, which he described as a “one stop-light town.”
“When I stepped on this campus, I knew this was where I was meant to be,” Childs said. “Something clicked.” He came when the weather was terrible, thus ensuring his love for the university was real. His path to student affairs, however, was not so simple.
His original major was finance, coming from appreciating the finality and formulas of accounting. From there he went to legal studies, in the hopes of helping people find direction in life and helping them make better choices.
He eventually ended with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, then earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and later on a Doctorate Degree in Leadership Studies, all from Bowling Green State University. When working with advising for undecided and underrepresented students, Childs realized he had found his calling.
“You have to be able to have the ability to draw on your past experiences and figure out how (they) are going to work for you,” Childs said. Fortunately for Childs, his current job combines all aspects of these many paths, allowing him to help guide students through the collegiate process and particularly leading them to services at the university that will best serve them and help them grow as leaders, all before seeing the final end product at graduation.
“In the work that I do, it’s about making sure the students feel connected and that they belong here and that they can thrive and be their best selves,” Childs said. “We meet students where there at, and take them to where they want to be as well as where we feel they should be,” Childs said.
“It’s corny, but they’re the future leaders of our country.” One of the aspects of any success story is the environment, in this case BGSU itself. It’s hard to deny the engaged energy this university has year-round. Even the most apathetic students have some level of engagement, whether through their hall council, attending football games or even hanging out at the campus Starbucks.
“It’s the culture we create,” Childs said. “Particularly within the division of studentaffairs, we encourage students to find what their interests are and to go after them.”
“I always summed it up this way, even when I was a student: whether you’re told to come here or you chose to come here, you’re here. So make the best of it for yourself,” Childs said. “We’re going to make sure you made the right choice and we’re going to challenge you to do what you need to do and support you through it.”
Childs previously served under the now-retired vice president of Student Affairs, Jill Carr, who was also came to Bowling Green to get a degree and never left. He was appointed to the interim position of vice president of the Division of Student Affairs by Carr. “She may have been impressed by how I connected with our students and how we worked through issues on campus with students,” Childs said.
While the university is using an outside firm to conduct the appointment of the next vice president of the Division of Student Affairs, Childs’ name is in the mix. According to The National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment December 2010 publication on the roles of student affairs in student learning,
“Student affairs professionals are among the most knowledgable people on campus for designing and implementing programs to enhance the student learning and success of these students.” Childs said that BGSU is farther along in many aspects— such as treatment of LGBT students and engagement with student leadership— than many of its fellow universities in the area. “We try not to be stale, we are intentional about growing and doing things differently,” Childs said.
“He doesn’t shy away from the difficult conversations,” Deanna Vatan, director of for the Office of the Division of Student Affairs, said. “He is an advocate for our entire community when it comes to diversity and inclusion.”
Like Childs and Carr, Vatan has spent much of her life in Bowling Green, earning her Bachelor’s Degree at BGSU and returning after several years in New York.
One way Childs helps create change is by having an open-door policy.
“If you have an issue, just reach out to him,” Vatan said.
In addition to being an advocate for the students at the institution, Childs also runs the monthly ex-offico meeting that bringstogether the presidents and leaders of top organizations on campus in order to discuss relevant issues and keep everyone informed on each other’s organizations.
The BG News, Latino Student Union and Undergraduate Student Government are just a few of the organizations in attendance.
Catheline Longoria-Pérez is the president of the Latino Student Union and has had Childs help develop leadership within her organization.
In order for members of her organization to be able to attend the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute in Chicago, they must have a seven-week program in collegiate leadership training, which Childs helped them with.
“He talked about his leadership philosophy and style and tips that we could use,” Longoria-Pérez said.
Not stopping there, Childs also donated money so that LSU members were able to go to the conference.
“For us, he’s been a big help,” Longoria-Pérez said. “Bowling Green has been good to me and I hope I’ve been good to it,” Childs said.
“In the work that I do, it’s about making sure the students feel connected and that they belong here and that they can thrive and be their best selves,” Childs said.”
