5 Questions with Dennis Perkins
Director / Assistant Dean for Residence Life Dennis J. Perkins Jr. has been with Grinnell College for five years. He holds a doctorate in education from the University of Pittsburgh, has two children at home, and is an avid fan of technology and a burgeoning podcaster. In his role at Grinnell, he manages all housing-related activities, including room selection, roommate conflicts, and indirect supervision of the community adviser (CA) staff and the live-in housing staff (residence life coordinators). He kindly took a few moments out of his schedule to talk to us about his work and podcast, and the risks and benefits of technology.
Q: What was the path that brought you to Grinnell?
A: After serving as an assistant director for residence life for three years, I knew that I wanted to lead my own residence life department but wanted to do it at a smaller institution to have more one-on-one face-to-face time with students. Grinnell was on my short list of places that checked all the boxes. I came to campus to interview and absolutely fell in love. I knew that it was the next place for me and my family.
Q: What is your podcast about?
A: It’s still in the infancy stage at this point, but the plan is to spotlight professional staff in helping fields who have a side hustle that supports their work-life balance. I’m curious to hear what strategies they have for how their side hustle helps them stay grounded while preventing burnout or not from their day job.
Q: What should we look forward to — or be cautious of — in terms of the tech that is coming our way? Is an AI takeover inevitable at this point?
A: AI is the biggest “trend” plaguing the tech world at the moment. We should be cautious about AI, not necessarily taking over the world, but cautious about its capabilities (and limitations) and the humans using it nefariously. Also, tech, while it has been good for our society in general — there are limitations. We should understand that technology can’t solve all the world’s problems — we will always need human intervention, just maybe not as much.
Q: So is the matrix actually going to become reality (or is it already)?
A: Ha ha, yes — I think there are some pieces of the matrix that are real. I hope that we have learned something from Keanu and his buddies 😊.
Q: What is your favorite Grinnell moment?
A: I was having a “fun one-on-one” with a residence life coordinator. We call them fun one-on-ones because they are different than sitting in the office and chatting for an hour. Anyway, the staff member wanted to go to the hammocks. I tried to get situated and fell off the hammock onto the ground, and we both just laughed hysterically. I have learned to appreciate those crazy but fun moments of life.