Canfield’s Campus Challenges

By Gabrielle Aldrich Last updated Sep 15, 2023

Associate Dean for Student Life and Community Standards Jodi Canfield ’91 returns to St. Lawrence after five years away. PHOTO CREDIT: SUNSET RECINOS MOYA ’27

The St. Lawrence University community welcomed back Associate Dean for Student Life and Community Standards Jodi Canfield ’91 with mixed feelings: Despite having an extensive history with SLU, Canfield was met with hateful comments on the anonymous platform YikYak which blamed her for the decline in party culture.

While an undergraduate student at St. Lawrence, Canfield was an athlete, a member of Chi Omega, part of Phi Beta Kappa and even made it into the Athletic Department Hall of Fame. Additionally, Canfield coached lacrosse for 15 years, and in recent years, Canfield started to focus on administrative roles, including Title IX coordinator and athletic director. After five years away from the St. Lawrence community, Canfield decided to return.

“I wanted to come back to St. Lawrence because of the students,” Canfield said. “There is such a strong sense of community here that I did not get at my two previous jobs,” she continued. Canfield highlighted how engaged St. Lawrence students are. “I did not like being on a campus where students would look at their phones and not say hello,” she said.

In her new role, Canfield is looking to make the campus a better place to live with an alcohol-positive culture. Canfield is attempting to address the living situations that excessive partying introduces rather than the partying itself. “Nobody on this campus should have to live with a bathroom with excessive vomit,” she said. “Nobody on this campus should have to live in a dorm that has the exit signs torn down every weekend. Nobody should have to live in a campus environment where they have to deal with a friend or roommate who has to be transported,” she continued.

Canfield oversees the conduct side of student life, but it is not her job to shut down parties. This duty falls upon campus safety and security. The safety and security team will only reach out to Canfield in the case of a transport. Once a situation escalates to violating student conduct rules, Canfield steps in. This may happen if there is a reoccurring problem or frequent transports at a certain location.

In response to the comments about cracking down on party culture, Canfield clarifies. “I haven’t actually done anything other than put one house on social probation because they violated the terms of their agreement. That’s it,” she said. “I’m pretty sure La Casa had a pretty good party Saturday night,” Canfield joked.

Through her past roles, both at SLU and her time away from campus, Canfield is able to look at students as holistic beings. Canfield tries to see more than a student being an athlete or a member of Greek life — to her, students have a lot more to bring to the table than just a single identity or poor decision. As associate dean for student life and community standards, she hopes to provide a valuable learning experience to students when they are on the wrong side of student conduct instead of making it their whole identity.

“I am not Rance Davis. I am Jodi Canfield,” she said. “I come with my own ways of having a conversation; I come with my own perspectives,” she continued. Canfield emphasized that if students came to Rance Davis, her predecessor, they could also visit her. If Canfield doesn’t have the answer or resources, she will find it for them. And if a student didn’t feel as if they could go to Davis with something, Canfield encourages students to give her a try.

Canfield has seen the posts about her on YikYak. Despite being on the platform, Canfield clarified that she will not respond to comments; she just wants to hear what the students are saying. If any students want to understand a rumor better, Canfield invites them to have a conversation with her. “I want this office to be open and not considered evil,” she said.

Canfield wants to make campus a better place to live, parties and all. She discourages black-out culture and wants students to stay safe. One YikYak sarcastically emphasized that Canfield “must have been a lot of fun” in her time at SLU. And to that, Canfield replied, “I was fun! Did I party here at St. Lawrence? I absolutely did. I remember it, and I want you to remember it, too.”