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A day in the life of Brian Hemphill, V.P. of Student Affairs
For the past few years, Brian Hemphill hasn’t been setting an alarm clock.
He doesn’t have to.
Instead, his body has been waking itself up between 4:45 and 5:05 a.m., said NIU’s vice president of Student Affairs.
After a workout at the gym and some time catching up on CNN and ESPN, Hemphill said he checks the Northern Star Web site to prepare for issues that may affect the university that day.
“My responsibility, really, is about the entire out-of-class experience, in terms of working with students from the time they arrive in orientation to graduation,” Hemphill said. “It’s about ensuring students that they have a very meaningful, well-rounded experience here.”
Hemphill usually arrives at NIU between 7:30 and 7:45 a.m. He does not eat breakfast, unless he has a breakfast meeting, he said.
In addition to his responsibilities as vice president, he is also an assistant professor within the College of Education. Hemphill teaches a CAHE Level 600 course – a personnel services and higher education course.
“That’s something that’s unique about being part of faculty meetings and being an assistant professor,” Hemphill said. “Not only do I get the opportunity to work with students every day and work with administrative issues, but also am involved in curricular conversations and issues that impact the classroom every day.”
Shaun Crisler, a graduate student, adult and higher education major and student trustee said he was very impressed with Hemphill’s class.
“Dr. Hemphill is very passionate about the projects he takes on [and] students’ agendas,” Crisler said. “He is always smiling. I love talking with him because he’s very optimistic about the things going on on campus.”
Between 1:30 and about 2 p.m., Hemphill takes a break to eat lunch at the Trident in Neptune and talk with students. Often during his lunch break, Hemphill said he responds to some of the 125 or so e-mails he receives each day.
After lunch, Hemphill visited the departments in the Campus Life Building. The rest of his day Thursday included meetings and speaking engagements, which lasted until about 8:45 p.m.
Brandi LaBanc, assistant vice president for planning and operations at NIU, said Hemphill is highly driven and a visionary, but is also very down-to-earth.
“I respect Dr. Hemphill a great deal,” LaBanc said. “He is the type of leader that expects [a lot] out of those he works with but has no problem rolling up his sleeves to do his part. Additionally, he always has the students in mind. [He] makes interacting with, listening to and working for students his top priority.”
Almost every other weekend, Hemphill said he attends at least one or two NIU or DeKalb-related events. He said he is invited to at least 30 events each month and tries to attend as many as possible.
Hemphill said he loves his job because it is diverse, with each day having unique activities and events.
“I enjoy this aspect of my work,” he said. “People who know me well realize this is not just a job. It’s what I’m passionate about and love.”
Brian Hemphill’s Favorites:
Favorite movies: “Gladiator,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Apocalypto.”
Favorite candy: Jelly beans
Favorite music: Jazz and R&B
Favorite color: Gold
Favorite hobbies: Watching and going to movies, cooking out, exercising, reading material about higher education.
Favorite place at NIU: Campus Life Building
Favorite NIU events: Football games and Move-in Day
Overview of Brian Hemphill’s day on Nov. 15:
7:45 to 9 a.m.: breakfast meeting
9 to 10 a.m.: meeting with Linda Herrmann, assistant vice president of Student Health and Wellness for Health Services
10 to 11 a.m.: Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee meeting
11:30 a.m. to noon: meeting with Jeff Daurer, director of capital budgeting and planning for Finance and Facilities
Noon to 1:30 p.m.: Counseling, Adult and Higher Education faculty meeting
1:30 to 2 p.m.: Lunch break
2 to 3 p.m.: Visit departments in the Campus Life building
3 to 3:30 p.m.: Meeting with Georgia Harris, budget analyst for Student Affairs
3:30 to 4:30 p.m.: Mid-point review
5 to 6 p.m.: Visit Student Association staff meeting
7 to 7:45 p.m.: Guest speaker at the Miss Asia event
8:15 to 8:45 p.m.: Speaker for a CAHE 670 class
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