Today's Update: Wednesday, December 17, 2025

December 17, 2025

Dear Student Life team, 

I am both proud and thrilled to share an important leadership update from Student Life. 

As you likely know, Ryan Lovell has been providing exceptional leadership in areas that directly impact student support, crisis response, parent and family engagement, and cross-campus coordination. His steady presence, thoughtful approach and deep commitment to student well-being have strengthened our division and our partnerships across the university. 

Given the nature of Ryan’s current responsibilities—and in alignment with promising practices for student affairs leadership across the nation—we are formalizing his role and expanding his title to: Associate Vice President for Holistic Student Support and Well-being and Dean of Students. This change affirms and elevates the good work already underway within Student Life’s Holistic Student Support and Well-being portfolio. 

To be clear, this title transition does not currently change Ryan's scope, portfolio, reporting lines or departmental structure; however, I support Ryan’s continued assessment of the needs across his portfolio. The intent is for this change to reflect the work and leadership Ryan already offers to Student Life, with goals of providing:

•           A clearer point of connection for students, families and campus partners

•           Greater visibility and alignment 

•           Recognition of the comprehensive student-facing responsibilities and functions he oversees

•           Reinforcement of the strong, student-centered leadership he brings to our division

Please let me know directly if you have questions and join me in offering appreciation to Ryan for his leadership. I also want to thank each of you for the essential work you do each day to support Ohio State students and our Student Life team. 

With appreciation,

Melissa S. Shivers, PhD       
Senior Vice President for Student Life        
The Ohio State University