Meet Greg Jones, Assistant Director for Operations and Off-Campus Housing at Brandeis University!

What are the benefits you see of using JumpOffCampus?  How do you believe JumpOffCampus has helped Brandeis?

I think it’s been really helpful because the interactive map feature makes it easy to use for students and it’s easy to use for landlords.  It’s really changed the ways that students are looking for housing in terms of the information that landlords are able to provide, the information that students are able to see and use, and the ease of searching for housing.

Where did you attend college?  What was your major?

I went to Haverford College in Pennsylvania. My major was history.

What does your job entail?

My title here at Brandeis is Assistant Director for Operations and Off-Campus Housing.  I run everything with housing assignments here, from running room selection, first-year assignments, new student assignments, and the opening and closing of buildings.  With off-campus housing, I advise and support students who live off-campus.  A lot of the time it’s about providing them with resources, sending them to the right places to find housing, and helping them out with issues and problems.

How long have you been working in community living?

I’ve been in this department for 5 years.  I’ve been the assistant director here for the last 2 years.

How did you get into the field of university community living?

After I finished my undergrad, I got a Master’s in Higher Education Administration and Policy from Northwestern University.  I really wanted to work in student affairs due to a lot of my undergraduate experiences at Haverford, including working with housing orientation and the first-year program.  I went to work at Brandeis for many reasons; it’s location, student body, and the university’s mission of social justice.  It’s been a great home for me these last few years.

What do you feel is the most important or difficult part of your job?

I think that the most important part is to make sure that everyone is getting what they need from housing and getting what they need from off-campus housing.  Needs are really about safety, [meaning] that they have a safe place to live, that they feel comfortable where they’re living, [that] they feel like they have access to the resources they need to be successful at college, and that they are taken care of the way that they need to be.

What is your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part is working with students: having interactions with them, helping them out when they encounter difficulties, and helping them to find a solution for themselves.  It’s a lot of fun interactions that you get to have with college students.  It’s a really fun and interesting population.  Everyday is always a little different and there’s never a dull moment.

What is your favorite college memory?

I don’t think I have a single day or instance.  The connections I made at college, the people, the place, and the community, those were the things that were important to me then and that’s why I love my undergraduate experience.  It has to do with the people that I was with and just being a part of that campus and that campus’s community.

What kind of music do you listen to?

Recently I’ve been mourning for Whitney, so I’ve been listening to her a lot.  Some Adele, Aimee Mann is always on my playlist.  I would say standard pop rock, little folk here and there.

What are your hobbies?

Love to cook:  always in the kitchen, always cooking something new.  Trying new recipes, things like that.  I don’t know it’s a hobby, but just going to the beach; going out to the shore is always really nice.  Trying out new restaurants: it’s a very expensive hobby but it’s one I enjoy very much.