Ohio State senior vice president for student life named president at Norfolk State University

Ohio State Senior Vice President for Student Life Javaune Adams-Gaston announced today that she will be leaving the university to assume the presidency at Norfolk State University in Virginia. Adams-Gaston will remain with Ohio State through mid-June.

Throughout her time at Ohio State, Adams-Gaston advanced the university’s approach to the comprehensive student experience, co-curricular strategy and involvement opportunities, including the nationally recognized Second-year Transformational Experience Program (STEP). Since joining the university in 2009, student organizations have grown from 993 to 1,381, and 81% of undergraduate students are currently engaged in some type of involvement activity. Likewise, Adams-Gaston grew Buck-I-SERV, Ohio State’s alternative break program, into one of the largest in the nation.

“My time at Ohio State has been some of the most rewarding of my career,” Adams-Gaston said. “It has been an honor to be a part of the lives of thousands of Buckeyes and to help craft a co-curricular experience that is challenging, supportive and transformative.”

“Our students are the heart of our university, and the work of Javaune and her team has focused on supporting Buckeyes for a decade,” said President Michael V. Drake.

“We will all miss Dr. J and wish her the very best in her new and exciting opportunity.”

In her tenure, Adams-Gaston provided vision and leadership for some of the university’s most significant residential, dining and student activity construction projects, including the expansion of South Campus (1,000 beds), the $359 million North Residential District Transformation (3,200 beds) and the opening of the Ohio Union. She also set the framework for a sophisticated student affairs development program, cultivating more than $29 million in donations and pledges throughout her time at the university.

Adams-Gaston also led the university in envisioning Buckeye Careers, a university-wide approach to career development and support, launching the Collegiate Recovery Community and developing the Social Change Department. Under Adams-Gaston’s leadership, the Office of Student Life has been named for the past five consecutive years as one of the nation’s “Most Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs.”