Springfield College’s new Dean of Arts

A warm welcome

Rachel Rubinstein is Springfield College’s new Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and has made an immediate impact by giving students a voice in the community.

_ By Cait Kemp _ @caitlinkemp09 (Photo Courtesy of ingeveb.org)

New coworkers, a new boss, and an unknown environment can cause one to feel nervous and make for an awkward encounter.

Springfield College has welcomed several new faculty members this year, all of whom have shown their Pride since the start. Dean Rachel Rubinstein is no exception to this display of togetherness that is shown through the Springfield College community.

Rubinstein is in her first year as Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Springfield. She has been involved in college administration prior to her time on Alden Street; while at Hampshire College as a literature professor, she had the opportunity to become a Dean of Academic Support and Advising.

For many years, Rubinstein was able to teach while also helping students in the advising office. This was the stepping stone for her career trajectory in college administration.

“What I discovered was that I really enjoy administrative work and it was very student-focused which was fun, but I also got a chance to work with faculty across [Hampshire] College,” Rubinstein said.

After six years, Rubinstein moved 30 minutes south to Holyoke Community College where she was a fulltime administrator in student and academic affairs. She continued her approach of student-focused work, which helped to shape her ideals that she would later bring to Springfield College.

“When you work in advising you’re also working with student affairs a lot, and really thinking about supporting students in a holistic others that Springfield lives by. It worked well with what she wanted to bring to a school and seemed to be a perfect match.

“I was really intrigued by the Arts and Sciences in general because it includes things like business and education and also things like writing and journalism and sciences, so it just felt like a very diverse area,” she said.

“And I was interested in the opportunity to work with [faculty]... thinking about how to support student success by really supporting faculty.”

Upon becoming the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Rubinstein has already begun to implement ideas that will benefit the College. Since she doesn’t have the interaction with the student body that she wanted through this position, she created a student advisory committee so she can meet face-toface and receive feedback about the College, the school of Arts and Sciences, and anything going on that they want to share. She has created a positive energy in the community that allows for students to feel as though they have a voice.

Another new idea that Rubinstein is working on implementing is co-curricular maps.

“It’s a wonderful way of showing students their various pathways through their degree that is really clear, and collects all the information they need, and also encourages them to make connections between their coursework and everything that happens outside of class,” Rubinstein said.

Through these maps, students can see laid out in front of them a sequence through their years of opportunities

way,” she added.

To add to her well-rounded resumé of experience, Rubinstein worked with the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (MDHE). Through this, Rubinstein worked in policy making, seeing the behind-the-scenes of how decisions were being made for students.

“Thinking about the whole system of higher education, and thinking about student success and eliminating barriers…issues of access, all of those things I was really invested in,” Rubinstein said.

Rubinstein’s time at MDHE made her want to get back into a campus environment to use what she was learning and discussing to help improve an institution.

She heard about the opportunity at Springfield College and was instantly drawn to the mission of service to

that are available to them on campus other than courses. They can see clubs that may be related to their interests or classes, events going on, and other ways to get involved and make the connections that are here for them on campus.

“We have a lot of great support systems for students…there’s a lot of resources for students but they are not necessarily collected under one place,” she said.

With a co-curricular map, it will be easy to locate the options students have and hopefully increase the use of these resources that are available.

Rubinstein’s focus since coming to Springfield College has been celebration. After the two year COVID-19 hiatus, she wants to recognize the projects that both students and faculty are doing on top of their everyday school work. Being creative is encouraged and appreciated to better the minds of the community.

To help acknowledge the work people are doing, she wants to establish a faculty appreciation program to share the impressive feats that are going on outside the classroom. Rubinstein has no lack of care and compassion for her fellow Springfield College community members, and she has made it her mission to support them as much as she can.

Whether that is oneon-one meetings with every professor in the Arts and Sciences department, a faculty innovation group to help brainstorm ideas for their lessons, or potentially teaching a seminar class next year to get back into the classroom, Rubinstein is committed to her students and faculty.

The shining star of Starbucks

Ceil, a barista in the Learning Commons, has become a community favorite.

Bright rays of sunshine perpetually decorate the first floor of the Learning Commons, rain or shine -- and they don’t come from outside the library’s massive glass windows.

Those seated in the small Starbucks cafe area can feel the warmth from behind the counter, where a petite, brunette woman serves drinks. She spins around the squared space like a ballet dancer, deftly grabbing coffee-making materials like a majestic wizard casting a new spell. Though she more recently wears a mask, her smile still shines through, paired with the twinkle in her deep bronze eyes behind her glasses.

This woman is Ceil, a barista at the Commons Cafe. She has worked for Springfield College for 32 years, and is no stranger to anyone who gets Starbucks coffee on campus -- or at least, she doesn’t act like one.

“It doesn’t feel like I’ve been here that long,” Ceil said with a laugh. “My feeling is I’ve got to love it or I’m doing something wrong.”

Ceil was born in Portugal and came to the United States when she was just 7 years old. Long before her existence, Ceil’s grandparents came to the U.S. in 1916 and worked at the industrial mills in New England.

After working for several years, her grandparents were provided housing by their employers. There, they had a son: Ceil’s father. He went to Portugal and returned to the U.S. in 1959 with Ceil.

With her predecessors helping to pave the way, Ceil has known since she arrived in the States that her family helped her get to where she is today.

“One thing I learned, even at that young age, is the fact that you can make it…” Ceil said.

“I saw [my parents’] struggles, my grandparents had their struggles, but with each of the struggles, it’s a little easier for every next generation.”

Ceil would go on to attend Ludlow High School in Ludlow, Mass., and became the first person in her family to graduate high school. After graduating, Ceil eventually got married and moved to Springfield.

In the fall of 1989, Ceil started working in food service at Springfield College, and stuck around even after Aramark took over in 2001. Although she has held a variety of positions within Springfield College Dining, she is the most popular proprietor of Starbucks drinks and products.

“Starbucks has been here for about eight years,” Ceil said. “I really like the culture because it reminds me of European [culture].”

While students come in and out of the Commons Cafe, grabbing caffeinated beverages to fuel their daily learning, Ceil hopes they have also learned something new from her every time she serves them a drink.

“I hope they learn to be kind,” Ceil said, “because especially with the pandemic we really need that. If anything is going to pull us through, it’s just to be kinder, gentler people.”

Serving drinks to college students may not sound like a lot, but for Ceil, it is the highlight of her day. She takes pride in her craft as a barista, and makes a tremendous impact on those that she serves. Ceil has seen probably hundreds of thousands of students come and go, and loves to see them grow and mature over their four years on Alden Street.

“My greatest thing is when [the students] come in as freshmen,” Ceil explained. “They just need someone to say a kind word, be a smile, you know? In my case I’m making drinks, but I’ve always loved that. Then by the time they graduate it’s a different world. You’ve seen them grow up, you’ve seen them mature. To me, that’s all worth it.”

Ceil has two daughters of her own who went to college elsewhere. Though they are all grown up today, Ceil still puts her motherly instincts to work in the Learning Commons, making orders with nothing but love and care every day for those whom she serves.

“It’s almost like being a mom away from home,” Ceil said. “Years ago someone asked me how many kids I had, and I said ‘Two thousand!’”

___ By Jacques st. Jean ___ @jacsaintj

Ceil serving coffee to a Springfield College student. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)