dEb KLADIVKO, PH.D.
Executive Director | Rebuilding Together Spartanburg | 3gen.dk@gmail.com
Previous SACSA Title(s): President; Chair, Strategic Planning for the Association and the Foundation, SACSA Foundation Treasurer
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Deb was introduced to the field of Student Affairs through her involvement in campus activities as an undergraduate business major at the University of Virginia. Following her graduation, she remained at UVA to complete a master’s degree in Counselor Education with an emphasis in Higher Education.
Her first job in the field took her to Ohio where she served as the Associate Director of Student Services at Ohio University-Lancaster. Serving on a small campus with only 3 student affairs professionals afforded her the opportunity to gain experiences in many areas of student affairs which charted the course for her future roles as a generalist in the field. After 3 years at OU-Lancaster, she took the position as Director of Student Services at Ohio University-Zanesville, where she got her first taste of life as a supervisor.
While working at the Ohio University regional campuses, Deb participated in a cohort PhD program for working professionals that involved traveling to Ohio University’s main campus every two weeks for 3 years. During this same time Deb married her husband, Bob and gave birth to their two children. Rebecca was born during Deb’s last semester of coursework and Rob was born two weeks after she defended her dissertation proposal. The support of her husband was crucial for her success in these endeavors; she and Bob recently celebrated their 40th anniversary.
After receiving her PhD., Deb was fortunate to be selected as the Vice Chancellor for Student Life and Services at the University of South Carolina Aiken, a position that she held for 25 years. The learning curve was steep when she first arrived since she moved from a commuter campus of 1000 students and supervisory responsibility for 3 staff members to a residential campus of 3200 students and a division of 50 staff members. Some of her greatest accomplishments during her time in this role included developing a comprehensive housing and residential life operation when the University purchased the privately-owned on-campus housing; adding a Counseling Center, Health Center, and Disability Services Office; and serving as co-chair of the campus-wide Retention Committee. After 25 years in the position, Deb decided to “retire” from being a senior administrator and from working full time. One of the greatest honors she received was to have the annual Outstanding Commitment to Student Development Award renamed the Dr. Deb Kladivko Outstanding Commitment to Student Development Award.
Within months of moving to South Carolina, Deb was introduced to SACSA and missed only 2 annual conferences in that 25 year period. Her involvement included serving as Strategic Planning Committee Chair, Local Arrangements Chair, SACSA Foundation Treasurer, and President of the Association in 2013. She has been humbled to have received the Joe Buck Service Award, the Howard Davis Award, and the Melvene Hardee Award. SACSA has always been her professional home and many of her greatest professional and personal friendships have been forged through her involvement in the association.
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