College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

New on the block

LAS welcomes two multicultural liaison officers.
Luiza Dreasher didn't have a typical first day on her new job.

Her initial day last summer coincided with the beginning of freshman orientation on campus. As a new multicultural liaison officer (MLO) in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dreasher also has responsibilities as an academic adviser of open option (undecided) majors.

"I had to jump right in and start advising students," said Dreasher. "I just did it but not without a lot of support from my colleagues. It was very challenging and it gave me a whole new appreciation of what it takes to be an academic adviser.

"Some of the students had classes they wanted to take and a clear direction of where they wanted to head with their academics," she continued. "Others had no idea and needed more guidance in choosing their courses."

Dreasher and Rob Lipsey are the new MLOs in LAS and approximately one-fourth of their time is to be spent advising students. It's a new experience for both although they have worked with Iowa State students for years.

Lipsey comes to LAS from the Department of Residence where he was the coordinator of residential minority programs for the past seven years. Dreasher was a program coordinator in the International Students and Scholars Office and the Study Abroad Center since 1992.

"I had a very similar position to an MLO," Lipsey said. "Several of the (on-campus) programs I was involved in (in the Department of Residence) were real similar."

MLOs in the colleges work closely with the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Now that freshman orientation has been completed, Dreasher and Lipsey can concentrate on their additional responsibilities.

One of the first goals the two have is to create a team in LAS multicultural student services. In addition to working closely with each other they will be assisted by Betty Toot, secretary, and John Musemakweri, graduate assistant. Their offices are all located on the first floor of Catt Hall.

"We need to get on the same page with the mission of this College," Lipsey said. "The multicultural piece will come naturally to us. We know how to interact with students. With the support of Multicultural Affairs we hope to bring it all together."

Dreasher says the two new MLOs plan to work closely with students of color.

"We are here to help and support them in getting the best education possible and to make sure they are ready for the work force after they graduate," she said. "It's not just enough for us to recruit students to come to campus, but we need to make sure they are successful when they leave the university."

There are approximately 500 domestic American students of color in LAS. Retention rates of those students are a particular concern to Dreasher and Lipsey. After the first year, retention of students of color is pretty good because the students are connected to the University. It's the second year where the bigger drop-off occurs.

"This (student of color retention levels) is something we have to work on," Lipsey said.

"Our challenge will be to get to know our students as individuals," Dreasher said. "We have 500 different students and we need to make sure we serve each of them well."q