Mike Raters begins his 11th year as Dean of Students at Wabash College this fall. A 1985 graduate of the College, where he was president of his fraternity and a varsity baseball player, he earned his master’s degree from Butler University. After spending 20 years teaching and coaching at the high school level in Indianapolis, where he was named the Indiana University Center on Congress Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Raters was named the Associate Dean of Students at Wabash in 2004.
As Associate Dean, Raters founded both the HELP (Housing and Educational Leaders Partnership) Program and the W.A.R. (Wabash Acts Responsibly) Council on campus, now long-standing and impactful Wabash traditions. He sought, was awarded, and implemented an NCAA Choices Grant to further the work of the WAR Council in 2007.
In 2008, Raters was promoted to Dean of Students. In his tenure as Dean, Raters has managed several elements of the Student Life division of the College, including but not limited to: Athletics and Wellness, Career Development, Title IX Programming and Administration, Student Behavior, Expectations, and Discipline, Student Health Services, Housing, and Safety and Security. Dean Raters created the Dean’s Presidents Council – a group comprised of campus student leaders who meet periodically and proactively to discuss issues, events, and challenges at the College. Raters has also developed the “Meetings with the Deans” and “Student Life Team Tours,” whereby the Dean, Associate Dean, and Director of Safety and Security meet with all members of each housing unit to have frank, educational discussions regarding Title IX, Sexual Assault and Harassment, Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and other key behavioral expectations. Accordingly, he was awarded the Indiana Collegiate Action Network’s Dean Richard McKaig Award for Exemplary Leadership in addressing high risk drinking in 2013.
In 2015, Raters was appointed by President Hess to collaborate with the Dean of the College and Chief Financial Officer to lead the conclusion of the Admissions cycle. That year’s Freshmen, the now-senior class of 2019, had the highest first-year retention percentage (91.5%) in College history and is on pace to set a record for highest four-year graduation rate. In 2010, 2014, and 2016, Raters served as the co-chair of the American Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) and Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) Deans of Students Conference. He also served as the Lead Facilitator of the first two “Athletics Direct Reports Institutes” at the 2016 and 2017 NCAA Conventions.
Aside from his duties as Dean of Students at Wabash, Raters is an active member of the Crawfordsville community. He has served on the Character Counts! In Montgomery County Board of Directors, the Crawfordsville Community Schools Re-organization Planning Committee, and the Crawfordsville Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Most importantly to him, he is especially proud of his family: Julie, his wife of 29 years; their three children, Morgan, a Butler University graduate, Justin, a senior at Wabash, and Joel, a fire safety student at Ivy Tech in Indianapolis; and a son-in-law, Joshua Bleisch, a 2016 graduate of Wabash.
You can reach Dean Raters at ratersm@wabash.edu