Jay Whitaker
Campus Dean of Students and Faculty
Dr. Jay Whitaker is the Campus Dean of Students and Faculty. He oversees both academic and student affairs, which includes supervising faculty, program coordinators, and department chairs, as well as enrollment services, Guided Pathways advising, and educational technology. Dr. Whitaker also works closely with Dean Vo to manage student activities, the Office of Disability and Accessibility, and mental health and wellness services. Dr. Whitaker is especially focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives on campus, and he is also working to increase dual enrollment and early college opportunities for high school students in Litchfield County.
Before becoming the interim Dean of Academic and Student Affairs and eventually the Campus Dean, Dr. Whitaker was Chair of Arts and Humanities and an Associate Professor of English, teaching literature, philosophy, and American Studies courses at the college starting in 2017.
Dr Whitaker came to the college from a teaching position at Coastal Carolina Community College in North Carolina. Dr. Whitaker earned a PhD in literature at Oklahoma State University, his Master of Arts degree in literature from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and his Bachelor of Arts in English at Lebanon Valley College of Pennsylvania. He has also studied at SMU Taos, the University of Maryland, and Florida State University’s London UK campus.
Jay and his wife, three young children, two big dogs, and their kitten, are so grateful to make their home in Norfolk, and be able to serve the community. Jay is on the Norfolk Board of Education, and he coaches youth soccer in Colebrook. In what little free time he has, Jay enjoys driving back country roads with his dogs and listening to the Grateful Dead. Jay is also a longtime supporter of the English football team Arsenal and watches every single game, often from a recording very late at night or in the wee hours of the morning when he can spare two hours of sleep.