McCoullum takes student life seriously

Vice Provost for University Life works around the clock for students With her welcoming hugs and quick anecdotes, Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum has earned a reputation among students for her easy-going nature and comforting presence. But her reputation does not come without effort. McCoullum, vice provost of University Life, has been at Penn for 18 years, and said she often works 24 hours a day in order to further enhance the partnership she has forged with students and student agencies. "There are a lot of times that I go through entire days without sleep," she said. "For me to be a partner to all of you [students] has to be the biggest privilege I ever had in my life." McCoullum explained that her intimate relationships with students allow her to collect a great deal of input from her constituents. "You all experience life as students every hour and are the people who should determine the types of activities and programs that you would like to see on campus," she said. She added that she loves University students and their enthusiasm for life. "They are absolutely brilliant," McCoullum said. "They have an extraordinary intellectual curiosity." In addition to her work at the University, McCoullum is also an active participant in the local community. Last year, she led a court-appointed panel which analyzed the educational programs for all students in Philadelphia, she said. "It was extraordinary. I had impact on kids who were like me 43 years ago," McCoullum said as she pointed to her Girls' High bumper sticker. She also works to give the homeless of West Philadelphia more information about services available to them. "I am a psychologist, but I don't have time to practice," she said. "A lot of times students will ask me to help them with family members." But in college at Pennsylvania State University, McCoullum did not only study psychology. She concentrated her studies in seven different areas -- including biology, English, journalism and education. McCoullum graduated early with a major in liberal arts and social and behavioral science. After college, she taught briefly in the Philadelphia public schools, and then decided to get a master's degree in secondary education. After completing that degree, she obtained a doctorate in urban education policy with a concentration in adolescent psychology. McCoullum then attended the Wharton School of Business and studied finance. She later studied at Harvard University. McCoullum is also a proud Penn parent. Her daughter Ena is a second-year medical student, and her son David hopes to attend the graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science in the fall. McCoullum took special care to praise the University's diversity. "[University students] are vibrantly diverse, and I value very highly the rich racial, ethnic, religious, ideological, geographical, sexual and other diversity on the campus," she said. McCoullum, whose father is from southwest Texas and mother is from Jamaica, is herself part of this diversity, though she was born in Philadelphia.