As Dean of Students in the University, Michele Rasmussen works with senior leaders across the University of Chicago to develop and promote opportunities for students’ intellectual, professional, and personal growth and to provide co-curricular support as students pursue their programs of study and prepare for post-graduate life. She works closely with the provost, vice provosts, and deans of students in the College, graduate divisions, and professional schools to identify and attend to areas of mutual concern as they relate to the quality and impact of campus life at the University of Chicago.
Rasmussen has direct responsibility for departments and service areas that focus on student life and support. These include student health, wellness, and access services; student leadership and involvement; athletics and recreation; international affairs; spiritual life; residential and dining services; disciplinary affairs; and student emergency response systems. She also oversees programs and offices that deliver campus-wide services and programs, including the University Registrar, Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, International House, and Event Services. Before joining the University in 2013, Rasmussen served as Dean of the Undergraduate College at Bryn Mawr College. As a member of the president’s cabinet and strategic planning group, Rasmussen was responsible for all aspects of undergraduate life and guided initiatives to expand student services, foster campus collaborations, bolster support for international students, and improve the College’s crisis management system. Prior to Bryn Mawr, Rasmussen served as an academic dean in Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and directed the Academic Advising Center, facilitating closer ties among academic deans and student affairs staff. At Duke, she also held an adjunct faculty appointment, served as a faculty-in residence in a first-year residence hall and regularly taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses in evolutionary anthropology. She previously held other student life and academic roles at Duke and at Wesleyan University. Rasmussen earned her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in History & Art History from the University of California at Los Angeles, and her Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology &  Anatomy from Duke University.