Building on a career devoted to enhancing the collegiate student experience, Maggie Balch joined the leadership team at RISD in December 2014. As dean of Student Affairs, she oversees the offices of Residence Life, Health Services, Counseling Services, Intercultural Student Engagement, the Center for Student Involvement, Disability Services, and Student Conduct and Compliance, working closely with the leaders of these areas to ensure that the RISD student experience is as inspiring beyond the studio as it is within it.

Balch holds a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Pennsylvania State University where, as an active student leader and resident assistant, she cultivated a passion for creating rich student experiences. After earning a master's degree in Higher Education Administration & Student Affairs from the University of Connecticut, she held positions at Washington University in St. Louis, Indiana University-Bloomington and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.

Most recently, Balch served as associate dean of Student Life at Brandeis University, where she had served in various positions since 2002. At Brandeis she reinvigorated a student-run orientation program, integrated student activities with fulfilling leadership opportunities, worked with faculty on developing learning outcomes that foster a more holistic student experience and, in 2003, oversaw the replacement of a large residential quad with a state-of-the-art living/learning complex. Working with architects, faculty, facilities managers and Student Life staff, she ensured the smooth transition of hundreds of students into the new space, which she dubbed "the Village."