Jane Dougan: Invest in Relationships

We believe relationships are at the heart of Denison’s identity and therefore seek to build a workplace that cultivates supportive, encouraging and enduring relationships.

Jane began her career at Denison in 2001 and has held various positions during that time, including Administrative Assistant - Dance; Administrative Secretary, President’s Office; Assistant to the Associate Provost; and her current position of Administrative Assistant - Academic Processes.

We would like to share some of the complimentary comments taken from Jane’s nominations for SOS employee of the year:

“Jane uniquely finds ways to connect the people and mission of the departments she supports. She genuinely wants to contribute in a way that makes those around her feel welcomed and valued. Jane sincerely cares for others and demonstrates it by listening and engaging with them during conversation. Even when they aren’t present, Jane is considerate of the impact of decisions and how actions will impact others. She is an empathetic person with the best of intentions in all she does.”

“Jane has made a point to get to know people across the campus. She is a wealth of institutional knowledge and has the ability to tap her vast connections across campus to help make things happen in very subtle ways. I’m particularly impressed with her sensitivity to building relationships with students who have been charged with an academic integrity violation. She respects the confidentiality of the process and offers students compassion and support when they email or ask logistical questions about the hearing or prompting them for compliance with fulfilling their sanction. Similarly I have witnessed the warmth and encouragement she extends to students with accommodations using the testing spaces in ARC. She puts people at ease and acts as a harmonizer in helping others whether they are colleagues across campus, supervisors, or students.”

“I find Jane to be one of the most respectful individuals I have worked with over many years. She is kind, empathetic, and appreciative. When talking with her, people feel calm and cared for. Jane communicates in a reassuring manner in both her tone and body language.”

“In the Fall of 2021, Jane agreed to assist ARC in limited ways due to the departure of another employee. Without hesitation she joined our suite and was a welcome support to our staff including the student workers who interact with her daily. Jane’s institutional knowledge has been helpful in knowing the campus community and the right individuals to tap for work on setting up phones/computers etc. for the eventual hire of a new AA for ARC.”

“Jane has been a fixture across campus for over 20 years. She is humble and is quietly effective in making a number of processes appear to run seamlessly. However, these accomplishments are honestly due to Jane’s execution of her work and her respect for others across campus. In her time at Denison, Jane has witnessed a lot of transitions in people and priorities of the college and through it all she has been an eager supporter of Denison.”

Anyone who knows Jane knows she is an exceptional person who has brought her special talents to every department she has worked at in her long tenure at Denison. Staff and students alike would agree that she is the gold standard for investing in relationships.