Dean of Students Ron Watson in 2017
Credit: Greg Anderson

Before coming to Beloit, Ron Watson did not expect to pursue a career in academia. He spent much of his earlier career in Japan as a second language teacher and later as a financial writer and translator. However, when he moved back to the United States to earn a Ph.D. in political science at the University of New Mexico, one of his mentors encouraged him to apply for a professorial position at Beloit after noting his popularity with students when he temporarily taught her health policy course.

Initially, Watson was opposed to the idea, having already formulated a plan for his future — starting a non-profit to help formerly incarcerated people become proficient in the green economy, a model that prioritizes environmentalism. However, upon visiting Beloit he was surprised at what he found. “When I came here, I was completely enraptured with the campus itself, but also with the faculty and staff and the students I interacted with,” says Watson. “I know it sounds cheesy, but it really blew me away how welcoming and engaging everyone was.”

His love for the city of Beloit was also an unexpected factor in his decision to take the job. “The thing that really embedded me in the city is that it is so racially and ethnically diverse. My children are all mixed, and I would not have been interested in being in a place where they were not normalized,” says Watson. “The people here have created a culture that crosses racial and ethnic lines and unites people in a way that I have literally never seen anywhere else.”

The support and encouragement from his mentor at the University of New Mexico was an essential part of Watson’s journey. As a first-generation college student, Watson found that having supportive faculty looking out for him was transformative. “People did things for me that they didn’t have to, and as a result, it helped shape me into the person that I am today,” Watson says.

Watson’s experience as a professor of political science and health and society and his expertise in the social determinants of health are opportunities to inform his new position in a unique way. “I know that the ways in which folks have been raised and the experiences they have had can shape their ability to learn, their orientation toward learning and toward trust,” says Watson. “I think that those are already helping me to understand how I may have to adjust my approach so that students are going to understand that [the administration] and I are here for them.”

Particularly, Watson notes that many college students today experience feelings of hopelessness and loneliness. “I think…young people see a world where there are very difficult challenges and they just have no idea how to solve them. Even when we think we know the answers, we realize that there are forces that are often preventing that change from happening,” he says. He also recognizes that COVID-19 heightened feelings of disconnection on campus. He points toward prioritizing and emphasizing community as a tool to persevere through hardship, saying, “We’re trying to figure out ways to help people reconnect and to be more joyous. From an administrative standpoint, and from an instructional standpoint, we’ve got to try to infuse all of the experiences that we can with things that will give us the energy and the motivation to move through this period.”

Watson also hopes to increase student attendance at events. “Our sports teams should look into the stands when they’re out on the field and the stands should be full, and our arts and performing events should be full with students, not just community members,” he says.

Another prevalent concern on campus surrounds the safety of and inclusivity regarding students from historically marginalized communities. On Jan. 27, Watson sent out an email condemning the use of slurs, after a student overheard another group of students using hateful speech. In the email, Watson emphasizes the importance of reformative education. “[It’s important to] create opportunities for us to confront each other over those issues. But ultimately to recognize that we are all learning, we are all still feeling our way through it,” he added in a later interview.

In a period where much feels uncertain for students preparing to enter the workforce and launch into post-college life, Watson acknowledges that the process won’t be easy. “The darkness is there. There’s not much we can do about it,” he says. “What we can also do is recognize that we can come together and find ways to enjoy our connection to one another.”

This story was originally published in the Beloit College Round Table newspaper in the Feb. 4, 2025 edition and was reprinted with permission from the writer.

Among his many other talents, Dean of Students Ron Watson is known across campus for his amazing sweat suit collection. 1846 refers to the year the college was founded.
Credit: Ellie Anderbyrne