soundings issue 1 - NWACUHO · next issue. Because soundings is the official publication of an...

the soundings 1spring 2007

the soundingsthe official nwacuho newsletter

northwest association of college and university housing officers

the soundings2 spring 2007

soundings editorial boardThe editorial board is comprised of volunteer membersthroughout the NWACUHO region. Duties include assisting inthe development of an editorial schedule, submission of interestarticles, and soliciting articles and feedback from the membersof the association. If you are interested in being a member ofthe editorial board, please contact your state or provincialrepresentative or the newsletter editor. editorial and submission policiesDeadlines for publications are based on distribution needs,and therefore it is important that members honor theestablished deadlines. Material not received on time, or notused due to space limitations will be considered for use in thenext issue. Because soundings is the official publication of aneducational association and reflects the professional standardsof its members, necessary revisions will be made to ensurepublication quality. soundings also reserves the right to editsubmissions for space requirements. Authors bear full responsibility for references, quotations, anddata accuracy of publications submissions. Authors also holdNWACUHO harmless from any liability resulting frompublications of articles submitted for printing.

Be sure to clearly indicate the author(s) and institution(s) onall submissions. Permission is granted to reproduce portionsof soundings’ contents with proper attribution and credit tosoundings. Advertisements in the soundings should not be considered anendorsement. For information on exhibitor advertising ratesplease contact: Clive Pursehouse, Product & ServicesCoordinator at 206.616.2098.Please send all submissions (articles, letters to the association,updates from around the region, and announcements) to:

Emily Boling, soundings editorArea Complex DirectorUniversity Housing & Dining ServicesOregon State University102 Buxton HallCorvallis, OR 97331Phone: (541) 713-5136Fax: (541) 737-0686**Please attach articles using MS word document or type thesubmission into an email.

NWACUHO soundings

TreasurerChuck McKinneyAssistant Director for Residential LifeResidential and Dining ServicesThe Evergreen State College2700 Evergreen Parkway NWOlympia, Washington 98505360.867.6191;[email protected]

Newsletter EditorEmily BolingArea Complex DirectorUniversity Housing & Dining ServicesOregon State University102 Buxton HallCorvallis, Oregon 97331541.713.5136;[email protected] Website AdministratorJosh GanaAssistant Director for Housing ServicesUniversity Housing & Dining ServicesOregon State University140 Arnold Service CenterCorvallis, Oregon 97331541.737.9197;[email protected]

Products and ServicesCoordinatorClive PursehouseAssistant Administrator for ResidentialLifeUniversity of WashingtonLander Hall, L-3Box 355610Seattle, Washington 98195206.616.2098;[email protected] Alaska-Yukon RepresentativeMichael VotavaAssociate DirectorDepartment of Residence LifeUniversity of Alaska - Anchorage3700 Sharon Gagnon LaneAnchorage, Alaska 99508907.751.7448;[email protected]

Alberta RepresentativeTim SiemensResidence Life CoordinatorRed Deer CollegeBox 5111Red Deer, Alberta T4N 6P6 Canada403.342.3174; [email protected]

British Columbia RepresentativeEvan HilcheyResidence Life ManagerHousing and ConferencesUniversity of British ColumbiaBrock Hall 1002, 1874 East MallVancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1Canada604.822.1071; [email protected] Oregon RepresentativeShelly ClarkLeadership Development & CommunityInvolvement CoordinatorUniversity Housing & Dining ServicesOregon State University102 Buxton HallCorvallis, Oregon 97331541.737.8856;[email protected] Washington RepresentativeDavid RubleConference and Guest HousingManagerUniversity ResidencesWestern Washington UniversityBellingham, Washington 98225-9195360.650.7537; [email protected]

executive committee

PresidentDan LarsonAssociate DirectorUniversity Housing & Dining ServicesOregon State University102 Buxton HallCorvallis, OR 97331541.737.0683;[email protected]

President ElectMatt LamsmaAssociate Director for Residence LifeGonzaga University502 East Boone Ave.Spokane, WA 99258509.323.4103; [email protected]

Past Presidenttimi tullisProgram Manager & Director ofResiliency in Residence LifeAssociation of Alaska School Boards1111 West 9th StreetJuneau, AK 99891-1510907.796.2306; [email protected]

SecretaryRichard DeShieldsDirector of Housing & New StudentProgramsCentral Washington UniversityUniversity Housing and New StudentPrograms400 E. University Way, MS 7513Ellensburg, Washington 98926509.963.1734; [email protected]


dan larsonHello NWACUHO Colleagues,

It is amazing to me thatalmost three months has passedsince many of us gathered forour region’s annual conferencein Calgary. As I am sure you willagree, the host committee did agreat job bringing the programtogether. Aside from being madeto line dance (which would havebeen our little secret if it weren’tfor my clever and industriouscolleagues posting it on theinternet) it was a greatopportunity to see old friends,make new connections, learnmore about our vendorresources, and buildcompetencies within ourprofession.

I am honored to serve as thePresident of NWACUHO thisyear, and look forward to

conducting the region’sbusiness, as well as workingwith a talented executivecommittee. The ExecutiveCommittee will be holding ourspring meeting this May inSeattle, Washington, and havea full and meaningful agenda.Along with regional reports andposition updates, we will bediscussing regional programssuch as drive-in workshops,developing a corporatesponsorships program,formalized methods for offeringscholarship opportunities, andour association’s financialsustainability. In addition, theexecutive committee hascharged a sub-committee todevelop a formalized structurefor the planning process of ourannual conference. It is the

objective of the ExecutiveCommittee to provide moredirect facilitation and supportover the conference planning, inefforts to reduce the burden onour host schools.

The Executive Committee’sfocus on the conferenceoperation comes at a valuabletime, as there has been a changein the 2008 conference host site.Due to organizational changesat Southern Oregon University,we will be hosting NWACUHO2008 in the PortlandMetropolitan area. As theExecutive Committee continuesplanning how to ensure the 2008conference is a success, we willprovide conference informationupdates on our website andthrough your state or provincialrepresentative.

a letter from the presidentI would also like to take this

opportunity to invite you toattend ACUHO-I this year, whichwill be held right here in ourregion in Seattle, Washington,on July 7-10th. NWACUHO willbe hosting a regional receptionduring the conference, so lookin your program guides for timeand location.

Once again, I am honoredand excited to serve as Presidentand work with members of theExecutive Committee. Pleasefeel free to contact me if youhave any questions,recommendations, thoughtsand concerns, or would likemore information on how tobecome involved in the regionand association.

welcome to a new edition of the soundingsGreetings and welcome to my inauguralissue of the Soundings newsletter. I havebeen so thankful to everyone in the regionwho has given support to me as I have beenconstructing this issue. I would like to takethis opportunity to express my appreciationto my predecessor, Zoe Woods, from theUniversity of Victoria. Zoe has beeninstrumental in providing me withinformation and guidance for this issue.

This issue would not have beenpossible without the help of the Soundings

newsletter committee. Shane McKee, BrianStroup, and Jill Yashinsky have been inconstant contact with me over the past fewmonths as they have been developing storyideas and writing their articles. We also havesome submissions from new writers in theregion. Please take time to read articles fromJosh Ashcroft, Scott Graham, and LaurenWeiner.

The state and provincialrepresentatives have worked hard to gatherinformation from our membership to include

in this edition. Finally, I would like to thankthe entire NWACUHO executive committeefor providing support and for putting upwith my constant harassment for newslettersubmissions.

I hope you enjoy reading this issue andI look forward to providing you with futureissues of the Soundings.

Emily BolingNewletter Editor


I was sitting in my officepreparing for a meeting on themorning on Monday, April 16when a chilling breaking newsemail flashed across my screen– “At least 20 dead in VirginiaTech shooting.” I knew in aninstant that event would quicklybecome a watershed moment inour collective conscience andthe business of highereducation. In the days after theevent, as I’m sure many of ushave, I have spent some timereflecting on the tragedy insorrow and grief, and at the sametime trying to place myself in theshoes of the administrators atVT as they reacted, responded,and are recovering from thisunimaginable tragedy.

As I am writing this article,details are still emerging as towhat took place that day inVirginia, as well as the days andweeks that lead up to theincident in the life of theperpetrator. I have no specialinsight into this situation,beyond what we are all seeingin the media. With each newpiece of information comes morequestions by students, thepublic, and the media; inexamining those questions wecan all take away some fodderfor thought and discussion aswe prepare ourselves and ourcampuses to respond to crisissituations.Question 1: Why didn’t theVirginia Tech police andadministration implement animmediate lockdown of thecampus?

Like most of us would, theVT officials made decisions withthe best information they had atthe time of the incident. Takinginto consideration current

response protocol, theiremergency plan, andinformation from the initial scenein the residence hall, the hall waslocked down until it could becleared and deemed safe. At thatpoint, there was no indicationof the unprecedented killingsstill to come. This incident willcertainly reframe the way manycampuses operate, however, toblame police and universityofficials is shiftingresponsibility from the oneperson who had control—theshooter.

Let this incident serve as acall to action to your institutionto review and train staff andstudents onc r i m e - i n -progress andl o c k d o w nprotocol andprocedures.Question 2:Why wasn’t thes i t u a t i o ni m m e d i a t e l ycommunicatedto the VirginiaTech campuscommunity?

We allknow thatu n i v e r s i t ycommuni t iesare complex, likea small city really. There is nosimple way to communicate amessage in a timely manner toall constituents. An email withintwo hours of an incident, whichtook place in this situation,wasn’t unreasonable given thecontext, timing, and chain ofevents.

It’s time to start exploringalternative means ofcommunications. Let’s face it,

we live in an information societyand our students have a greaterexpectation for information thanever before. Text messaging andsirens seem like viable solutionsin the aftermath of this tragedy.Even with email and voicemailtrees, the questions to ask onyour campus should includewho is authorized and able toutilize these communicationsvenues, what happens if it isoutside of normal businesshours, and what structures arein place to respondinstantaneously even assituations are still developing.Question 3: It seems like therewere plenty of warning signs.

Why didn’tthe universityintervene?F r o ma v a i l a b l einformation, itappears thatVirginia Techattempted tointervene andf o s t e rp o s i t i v egrowth andchange in theperpetrator’slife on avariety ofo c c a s i o n s .Unfortunately,

these intervention techniquesare not always successful, andthe individual decisions andactions of a person can’t alwaysbe stopped.

Use this situation as acatalyst with your staff to seekout that loner student, makeconnections, and developrelationships – the things theyare already doing well. Asindicated in this case,

unfortunately we rarely seewhen those efforts work, and itis all to evident when they don’t.Question 4: What are theimplications for residential staffgiven that an RA was one of thefirst victims, while attemptingto resolve what seemed to be aconflict between two students?

We may never know thespecific circumstances that ledup to RA Ryan Clark respondingto an argument on his floor thatday, although we do know thathe perished trying to serve thestudents in his community.

This incident may havecreated some anxiety amongstaff. It’s a great time to remindRA’s to take a few moments tocare for themselves, and toreiterate on-the-job safety. Astaff member should never putthemselves at risk. They don’thave the resources or trainingto approach an armed individual.

The questions above,overshadowing the mediacoverage of this tragedy, arecomplex in nature and have noeasy answer. I don’t fault theuniversity in any way for itsactions on that dark Monday,but let’s use these questions tolearn and grow as a profession.Take that crisis response planoff the shelf, dust it off, andevaluate it in the context of someof the issues explored above.

While there is no cookie-cutter solution, each campus willneed to seek strategies andprotocols that work in thespecific environment. It is clearthat we are moving into a newparadigm of communication withstudents on a large-scale basis.Take this time to assess yourcampus plans, so when the crisishappens, you are ready.

a housing officer mourns with the nationresponding to crisis on campusJosh GanaOregon State University


School RA Stipend Room (Yr.)

Board/Meal Plan

(Yr.)

Program

Requirements

Duty

Requirements

In-Service

&Trainings Other Duties

Other

Compensation

Central

Washington

University (WA)

$85/month paid bi-weekly (after room

deduction)

Single Room valued at $3770 deducted from RA pay (in essence making it

free)

14 Meal Plan per week valued at

$4227

Com. Development Model requires RAs to

complete roughly 5 programs a Qtr / 15 a

year

RAs On-Duty once a week and

2 weekends a term

Departmental meeting

consisting of training or

development opportunities once a month

While On-Duty RAs are required

to work at hall office for 1 hour

and distribute hall mail

N/A

Gonzaga

University (WA)

$450 Stipend per term paid in Dec.

and May

Single Room valued at $4420-$5200

Gold Level Meal Plan valued at

$3420

11 programs a term 6 active + 4 passive

(Security & Belonging, Personal Development, Com. Development, and

Social Justice)

RAs On-Duty once per week

and 3-4 weekends per

term

Most Block Staffs have 1

retreat per term where additional

training & development

occurs

N/A N/A

LaSalle University

(PA) No Stipend


Meal Plan valued at approximately

$4000

Com. Development Plan requires RAs to complete 8 objectives

that each require 2 goals per semester

RAs On- Duty once every week and 1 weekend a

month

1 In-Service Training per

month N/A N/A

Midwestern State

University (TX)

$400-500 per term paid monthly

depending on yrs of experience


19 Meal Plan per week valued at

$2610 7 programs a semester

RAs On- Duty once every 2 weeks and

couple weekends/term

1 Staff In-Service per

semester lasting entire weekend

Work 10-12 hrs/wk at front-

desk in hall from 12pm-2am

N/A

Mount Royal

College (Alberta)

No Stipend (See Other

Compensation)

RAs are required to cover cost of Room

No Board/Meal Plan

5 programs per term covering 6 key areas per

year

RAs on Duty once every 6-7

days

1 Mandatory In-Service per term

and (on own) responsible to

attend 2 additional

training sessions per term

N/A

RAs paid bi-weekly as casual employee. Expected to pay all

res fee. RAs paid out a contract of $4800

over the course of the academic year.

Texas A&M

University (TX)


Compensation)

RAs required to cover cost of room (some RAs receive

single room at double room rate)

No Board/Meal Plan

RAs required to complete a respectable amount of “community interactions” within hall

community

RAs On-Duty once a week

plus 1 weekend a month

RAs required to attend 2

Trainings or Development Opportunities Per semester

On weekends, RAs required to be On-Duty all day not

just at night

RAs paid on the basis of working 21 hours per week. “hourly” rate depended upon

years of service. Paid bi-weekly

University of

British Columbia

(Vancouver)


Compensation)

RAs pay a reduced rate for rent (20%

off)

RAs get $500 of their approx.

$3000 Meal Plan covered as taxable

benefit

4 programs a semester + at least 3 community

building events + assist on 1 large scale

program

RAs required to be “in” 4 nights a week and do 3 set of rounds on those nights + be On-Duty 1

weekday a month and 1

weekend day a month

Building-Block Trainings each month + attend

Student Leadership

Conference in Jan.

N/A

RAs paid out a contract of $5500 bi-

weekly over the course of the school

year (Sep-May)

There are RAs within every Housing andResidence Life Department across thecountry and none of these RAs seem tohave the same job requirements orcompensation package. For this reason, Isurveyed my professional colleagueswithin the NWACUHO region, otherGonzaga Residence Directors, and used myown knowledge from previous institutionsto analyze the similarities and differencesin RA job requirements and compensation.Statistics were also gathered fromCanadian institutions which shouldprovide greater insight for those that maybe interested in how the American andCanadian Housing systems vary withregards to the RA position (dollar amountsfor Canadian institutions is based onCanadian dollar).

a look at ra compensation and job requirements

Even though the vast majority of RAscomplete numerous programs, attend fall/winter trainings, serve on-duty, and help withthe opening and closing of the halls there aremany differences. Every Housing Departmentuses a slightly different program model, hasdifferent on-duty protocol, requires RA tocomplete a range of other duties, andmandates a various number of in-services andtrainings throughout the year. It is for thisreason and many others that the total RA“package” is different from campus tocampus.

It is obvious from the table the similaritiesand differences exist between RA jobrequirements and compensation acrosscampuses. Now you can compare your RA“package” with those at other institutions inour region and outside of it. I know after

completing this study I have realized that atGonzaga we may want to implement morein-services or development opportunitiesthroughout the year for our student staff. Ican also greatly appreciate the fact we areable to give stipends to our RAs for theirservice to our department.

Additional research on RAcompensation and job requirements couldinclude: adding the total compensationpackage up at each institution, adjusting thetrue value of the room/board package basedon cost-of-living in that area, providing moreinsight into the different programmingrequirements, adjusting currency valuesbased on US/Canadian dollar exchange rate,and including all other job duties that arerequired of RAs.

Shane McKeeGonzaga University

chart continued on page 11


canadian new professionals scholarship winnerHave you ever been asked to write aboutyourself? If so, then I’m sure you haverelated to the awkwardintroduction to this pieceand will also recognizethat’s it’s not an easything to do. For those ofyou who have not, Iencourage you to try thisout as a fun reflection tool.My name is NatashaLopeke and I was the 2007Canadian NWACUHONew Professional Awardrecipient. Wow what amouth full! I have beeninvolved in Residence Lifesince 2003 where I startedas a paraprofessional atWilfrid Laurier Universityin Waterloo, Ontario. AtLaurier I did myundergraduate degrees in Psychology andGlobal Studies and still seem to enjoy thedramatic lifestyles of your typical collegeand university student. I currently work atMount Royal College in Calgary, Alberta,as a Residence Life Coordinator. I am directlyresponsible for a team of 26 ResidenceAdvisors and approximately 850 residentstudents, to the average Joe of Calgary whoknows little of residence life, I’m nuts, butmuch like all of you, I’m just another personwho has passion to affect and change lives.

I first got involved with NWACUHO in2006 when Steve Fitterer, my supervisor,

scolded me for wantingto be apart of O-ACUHO and remindedme that I no longer livein Ontario and was nowa ‘Westerner’. In reality,he just put it all inperspective. Instead offlying home to anorganization that I wasall too familiar with Iwas encouraged tostep out of my comfortzone and get to knowthe organization that Inow belongto. With hisadvice Ia t t e n d e dNWACUHO

in Spokane, Washington, inFebruary of 2006. I met incrediblepeople and I gained a wealth ofknowledge.

After my first conference atNWACUHO I decided it was timeto step it up a notch. Last year Ijoined the connections committeeand began to get involved a littlemore with the organization. This year inCalgary I was given an opportunity topresent for the first time at a professional

conference and felt I had even moreconfidence to do some networking. Theannual conference really is a great place tomeet people just like you; people with similarinterests, similar struggles and similarexperiences. It’s also a really a great time toget to know what’s going on at otherintuitions and in other programs. Iappreciated how this helped me strengthenour own program at MRC and how it helpedme understand what my options are as Icontinue to move through student affairs inthe future. All in all there is no doubt thatNWACUHO has influenced my experienceas a new professional. Our jobs are veryunique but there are a number of us out thereand I have learned first hand how important

it is for us toconnect. Iencourage all whohave yet to attenda NWACUHOannual conferenceto get out thereand experience it,there is so muchmore to this line ofwork than youcould ever imagineas a newp r o f e s s i o n a l .

Why not reach out and see what a differenceit can make?

meet natasha lopekeNatasha LopekeMount Royal College

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After my firstconference atNWACUHO I

decided it wastime to step it

up a notch.

Josh

Gan

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Natahsa Lopeke accepts her awardat the annual conference.


usa new professionals scholarship winnerMeet Jill Yashinsky, NWACUHO NewProfessionals Scholarship Recipient. Jillis a 1st year Residence Director at GonzagaUniversity having moved up Highway 195this fall from a similar position last year atWashington State University. Gonzaga isfortunate to have Jill on our staff team. Shehas made significant impacts on ourdepartment and students in her short timehere.

Jill is a Wisconsin native transplantedto the Inland Northwest. Her Midwestroots go deep, however, with an undyingpassion for the Green Bay Packers (notethe cheesehead in her office) and a longingfor the finer points of Midwest culture (justask her to relate stories of growing up inthe snow, picking rocks, and mom’s hotdishes). She attended St. Norbert Collegeas an undergraduate where she wasinvolved as a Resident Assistant and RHAPresident. She also took a semester tostudy abroad in Australia. All of theseexperiences have impacted her passion forleadership, working with internationalstudents, and RHA.

In her time at GU, Jill has continued toexcel in the challenging roles of being aResidence Director in an apartmentcomplex and RHA advisor. Shedemonstrates a wonderful ability forworking withstudents in crisisand managingconflict. It seemsthat every time sheis on call, ani n t e r e s t i n gscenario arises(think the worstroommate conflictyou can imagine).Jill has an ability topresent anassertive yetcaring persona that resonates with allstudents. This carries over into her workas a judicial hearing officer where studentsalways feel heard and treated fairly.

Matt LamsmaGonzaga University

meet jill yashinskyHowever adept she is at working throughthese challenging situations, Jill’s real delightcomes from working with RHA.

Under heradvising, theResidence HallAssociation atGonzaga Universityhas taken the nextsteps to becoming ar e p u t a b l eorganization oncampus and in theregion. On campus,the organization hasbeen an outstandingprogramming bodyand advocacy groupfor the residentialstudents. This isdemonstrated by thefact that during recentelections, threecandidates ran for thepresidency (comparedto one or zero in thepast). In the region,the Gonzaga RHA has moved from simplyattending conferences, to submitting bidsand receiving recognition. Jill has been anintegral part in challenging these student

leaders to develop avision and succeedat implementing it.

Jill has also beena bridge builder forour department.She has developeds i g n i f i c a n trelationships withour Security Office,the Physical Plant,Student Activities,and InternationalStudent Programs.

Jill is sought out for committee work oncampus and consistently asked by others inStudent Life for her opinion on studentculture or a campus issue. As a supervisor, I

appreciate Jill’s ability to appropriatelychallenge the process by suggestingpositive ways to improve on current

protocol or createa system whereone did not exist.Jill is also a self

p r o c l a i m e ds t u d e n td e v e l o p m e n t“nerd.” Shec o n s i s t e n t l yc h a l l e n g e sherself by readingarticles andbooks from thefield of studentaffairs, andengaging othersin conversationabout the issuesraised by thesereadings. She isc u r r e n t l yenrolled in theMasters ofOrganizational

Leadership program on campus, and isenjoying this class work. She also co-presented two break-out sessions at therecent NWACUHO Conference and had aprogram accepted for ACUHO-I.

The long-term plans for Jill are stillbeing developed. Beginning this summer,Jill will move to Kennedy Apartments, anewly built upper-class hall on campus. Sheis looking forward to the challenge ofdeveloping a positive and engaged culturein a new community. Jill will also continueto intentionally develop an outcomes-basedprogram in our International Living andLearning Community. These projects willkeep her busy as she reflects on “what’snext” for herself. Whatever the future holds,Jill will take with her a fervor for workingwith people and intentionally developingthose around her.

Jill has an ability topresent an assertiveyet caring personathat resonates with

all students.

Josh

Gan

a

Jill Yashinsky, new professionals scholarshiprecepient, enjoys some Mo’s chowder.


Attending your first regional conference,even in the friendliest of regions, can leaveyou feeling like a freshman at move-in day.I remember my first conference fondly. Priorto the conference, our supervisors hadmany, many conversations with all of theResidence Directors about what theyreferred to as “informal networking.” Theypreached about how important“networking” was for our future positions.Despite all of the inspirational speechesabout how wonderful networking was, I stillstruggled to see it as anything other than,in the politest of terms, sucking up. Thecloser we got to the conference, the moredisgruntled I became about this socialfakeness I perceived I had to embody.

The conference came and went, and Iwas fortunate to be on the host committee.While serving in this role kept me fromenjoying some of the aspects of theconference I did this year in Calgary(especially sleep!),hosting gave me asense of purpose inthe success ofsomething bigger thanmyself. (And isn’t thiswhy we all work withstudents?) Serving ina host role gave me astarting point forconversations andbuilding genuinefriendships with manypeople. In fact, thefurther the conferenceprogressed, the morenatural talking to otherpeople felt.

Why do I sharethis story? During ourconference in Calgary,I heard a group of newprofessionals sharetheir feelings of alienation and not knowingwhat was going on around them; this hadlead to what appeared to be disengagement

in the conferenceexperience. Isympathized withthem greatly; hadI not had the pre-conference preptalks aboutnetworking andhad a role inhosting, I wouldnot have beenready for what wasto come. Your firstconference really isa lot like freshmanmove in day; there are some things thatresemble everything you thought you knew,yet you are not completely sure you trulyknow anything and are thoroughlyintimidated by the upperclassmen andwomen who seem to have it all together.

From one New Professional Scholarshipwinner to all ofthe newprofess ionalswho hope toachieve thisp r e s t i g i o u saward, I wouldlove to sharewith you sometips I have foundto help you feelm o r ecomfortable andengaged in thec o n f e r e n c eexperience, andallow you tonetwork in themost genuineway possible.At everyconference, youget those fun

name tags with ribbons attached to themthat say things like “New Professional” or“Presenter.” Think of those ribbons as post

it notes of conversation tips. Ask other newprofessionals what their experiences havebeen like. Most of the time, they have gonethrough some of the same road bumps ofbeing a new professional and like, you, thismay be their first or second professionalconference. Ask presenters what they arepresenting about, why they found that topicinteresting, etc. Encourage people to talkabout themselves! We all love to do it (seethe beginning of this article for proof).

Though it is human nature to stay inour comfort zones and talk to people wealready know, sit at tables with people youdo not know, at least for one day of theconference. If you do not feel comfortableon your own, take one colleague with you.Meals are a great time to chat with people ina less formal environment. There are alsoenough people at tables to carry theconversation until you are comfortableenough to jump in.

Attend the New Professionals events.Everyone in this room is in the same boatyou are. Look around: everyone has the“deer in the headlights” look! Find a coupleof other new professionals and chat withthem. Make plans to meet up again at oneof the exhibitor breaks to talk about howyou are feeling as the conference goes on.

Present a program! This can be anintimidating venture, and from personalstory continued on page 9

overcoming conference jittersa new professional faces her fears

Jill YashinskyGonzaga University

Josh

Gan

a

Josh

Gan

a

The Oregon Roundtable meeting at the annual conference.

timi tullis officially starts the conference with theofficial NWACUHO rainstick.


experience, my first conferencepresentation was less thanimpressive. We are all experts onsomething, so share yourknowledge! If you are not surewhat you are expert on, ask yourcolleagues and supervisors. Ifyou do not feel comfortable onyour own, ask a friend or mentorto present with you. Twop r e s e n t e r sequal half thestress.

Conferen-ces are a timewhen businesscards fly! Afteryou meetsomeone andget their card,write somenotes aboutt h econversation you had and anyother interesting things aboutthem on the back of their card.This gives you a great startingplace after the conference for e-

mail correspondence abouttopics or issues, while alsointegrating the personal element.The conference attendee list isanother great place to makesimilar notes. Do not be afraidto e-mail these people after theconference to ask them moreabout their areas of expertise orto get advice on how to handlea particular challenge.

Participate inthe Case Studyand asked to bepaired up withpeople you donot know. Youcan learn a lotabout otherinstitutions andthe way theyoperate throughi n f o r m a l

conversations with your casestudy partner(s). Just like highstress situations can bring ourresidence hall communitiestogether, the false sense of high

stress from thecompetition can alsobring yourself and yourpartner(s) closer.

V o l u n t e e r !ACUHO-I is stilllooking for volunteersto help at theconference. Not onlywill you find a sense ofpurpose in helping witha successfulconference, but you willalso have manyopportunities to get toknow others morequickly! You can e-mailErica Barton [email protected] you are interested involunteering.

Conferences can be a greatexperience, but for those of uswho are not implicit extroverts,attending these events may takea little bit more mentalpreparation and internalcoaching. I hope a few of these

tips help you find a sense ofpurpose and satisfaction in yournext conference experience, andhelp you become our nextNWACUHO New ProfessionalsScholarship winner!

Your firstconference

really is a lot likefreshman move

in day. . .

Josh

Gan

a

Dan Larson and Alicia Wight line dance atthe annual conference.


WOW! It has been almost 7 years since Iwas a new RA at Midwestern StateUniversity (Wichita Falls, TX) and at thattime I never thought I would be making acareer out of Residence Life/HigherEducation. Over the years I have had theopportunity to gain some invaluable andamazing experiences from three very differentinstitutions (small public, large/urban public,small private Catholic). I was an RA andAssistant Hall Director at Midwestern StateUniversity (MSU), a Graduate Assistant HallDirector at the University of Missouri-St.Louis (UMSL), and now I am a ProfessionalResidence Director at Gonzaga University.

I have been at Gonzaga for about eightmonths and I have come to realize that thereare many differences which have contrastedwith my public institution experience. Thisarticle may be important for thoseprofessional staff members that are lookingto switch institutions or just want aninsider’s perspective on a private institution.I have enjoyed learning the “GU Way” andgetting experience at a private universitybecause it has allowed me to become a morewell-rounded professional. In order toeffectively navigate this new system I havehad to be open-minded, prepared and readyto grasp change, make mistakes and learnfrom them, build strong relationships withcolleagues, and effectively use my previousexperiences to benefit myself, my staff, andmy department.

Upon my arrival in Spokane the firstthing I noticed that was different was thestudent body. At Gonzaga, the students asa whole have better test scores, higherGPA’s, a large number went to private(Catholic) high schools, the students comefrom all across the country, and many ofthem are legacies (parents/brothers/sistersattended Gonzaga). This is very differentfrom MSU and UMSL where most of thestudents were first-generation collegestudents and many of the students camefrom the surrounding area. The studentbody at GU tends to come from a highersocioeconomic background as compared to

the GU waymy experience at gonzaga as a first year professional rd

the students at my previousinstitutions. Because they havemore financial backing fromtheir parents/scholarships anddo not have to spend a largeamount of time working part/full-time they are able to bemore involved in campusorganizations, intramurals, andvolunteering. At MSU andUMSL the student body wasincredibly diverse (race, culture,religion) and that is somethingI have not experienced atGonzaga. Diversity is extremelyimportant at Gonzaga and there is a hugepush by the university to increase ournumbers. Currently there are a number ofprograms that have helped increase andretain students from diverse populations,such as: The Academic Cultural ExcellenceStudent Leadership Program (ACE),Institute for Action Against Hate, IndianOutreach Education Program, FirstGeneration Project, Multicultural Encountersfor Educational Transition Program (MEET),and the Intercultural and MulticulturalProfessionals Affecting Change TogetherProgram (IMPACT). However, only 15% ofour student body is made up by students-of-color.

Coming from a large-urban publicinstitution where there was a lot ofcompartmentalization I was very excited tobe a part of Student Life Division that wasvery collaborative and supportive.Currently, all the Professional RD’s on staffhave collateral assignments within ourdivision and I have had the opportunity towork in the GU Career Center. I would nothave had this unique opportunity at mostother institutions. My time in the CareerCenter (approx. 8 hrs. a week) is spentworking on outcomes assessment, graduatesurvey data, helping students with resumes,and handling special projects for theDirector.

At any new institution it is importantto be able to quickly adapt to the system

and that it what I have been able to do. AtGonzaga there are no campus police officers;instead we are staffed with professionalofficers out of the Campus SecurityDepartment. There are no front desks in theresidence halls, no swipe-card entry, nocameras on the exit doors, no checkingguests in-and-out. There is not designatedcustodial and maintenance staff within theHousing and Residence Life Department.Everything listed above are things that Ihave had at previous institutions.Ultimately, I thought they were a necessity,a must have, however, I have realized that itis not the GU Way. And that is ok, becausewe are still a high functioning departmentmaking great things happen.

I have done a tremendous amount inthis first year. I have opened my buildingsat close to 104% occupancy, managed 4residence halls with close to 400 studentsand 10 RA’s, seen over 130 conduct cases,served on numerous campus committees,worked in the GU Career Center 8 hours aweek, gone to several professionalconferences, advised two studentorganizations, and much more. Mytransition to a private university, Gonzaga,has been a learning experience and I knowthat I would have never gotten some of theseamazing opportunities if I were at a differentinstitution.Cover photo is courtesy of Shane McKee. Shane ispictured with his Gonzaga University RA staff.

Shane McKeeGonzaga University

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Shane McKee (center) with his 2006-07 RA staff at GU.


One of the six principles ErnestBoyer developed to define asuccessful college community isthat it becelebrativein nature.As aresidentiallife staff isan integralpart of thec o l l e g ecommunity,it too needstradi t ion,celebration,a n drecognitionto developa n dinf luencethe surrounding community.Without the celebrative piece,you lose one of the crucialaspects of working in residencelife.

A resource that can beutilized to develop this conceptwithin a staff is the staff meeting.When I was a paraprofessional,I looked forward to our weeklystaff meetings because theywere a time for us to cometogether, share our triumphs andstruggles, catch up with eachother and recognize everyone’shard work. As a newprofessional at Southern Oregon

Lauren WeinerSouthern Oregon University

celebrations and rituals with student staffUniversity, I am working ongiving my staff that same feelingso they do not just see staff

meetings ass o m e t h i n gpainful thatthey have todo every weekas quickly asp o s s i b l e .After all, staffm e e t i n g sw i t h o u tce l eb ra t i ons i m p l yb e c o m eb u s i n e s smeetings. Thec h a l l e n g e :how toe s t a b l i s h

traditions for a staff with noinstitutional memory. Not onlywas I new to the institution, butfive of my six staff members arefirst-year RAs and my onereturning RA had previouslyworked in a different complex.The solution is to find a balancebetween implementing ritualsand allowing the RAs todevelop their own traditions.Enter Jerome.

My favorite newcelebration for the year and theinspiration for this article isJerome, our staff gnome. Initially,when I raised the idea of some

sort of “staff member of theweek” award to my RAs, theyjokingly came up with the ideaof a lawn gnome.Unintentionally, the gnomebecame more than just a vehiclefor weekly recognition. Itbecame a mission, an inside joke,and a uniting theme. Apparentlylawn gnomes are a seasonal item,so part of the reason Jerome isso special to our staff is that itwas quite a quest to find him.

Although we could not findour gnome right away, my staffran with the idea. For example,they designed staff shirts with apicture of a lawn gnome on theback, underscored by the phrase“There’s gnome place likehome.” Finally, one night inNovember I received a call fromtwo very excited RAs – they hadfound the perfect gnome whileshopping at the mall. Later thatnight there was aknock on my doorand when I opened it,a gnome wasstanding there byhimself. There wasno difficulty incoming up with hisname – Jerome theGnome camenaturally. Of course,much excitementfollowed as the other

RAs were made aware of the newaddition to our staff, and Jeromestarted attending staff meetings.At his second meeting, hefulfilled his original purpose –being our staff member of theweek award, which one of myRAs so aptly dubbed the“Gnomie.”

Some of the RAs have beenout and about taking pictures ofJerome on campus anddowntown to create ascrapbook, which they say theyare going to leave in the officeso that future staffs know aboutJerome. He even has his ownFacebook group. Watchingthese RAs take completeownership of their celebrationsand develop traditions to passon to next year’s RAs has beenone of the highlights of my timeso far at SOU.

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Jerome prepares for staff meeting.

The official gnome wear.

University of

Missouri-St. Louis

(MO)

No Stipend Single Room valued

at $4840

$900 in declining balance + 3 meals

per weekend

10 programs/sem. 6 active

3 passive 1 spontaneous

RAs On- Duty once every 2 weeks and 3

weekends a term

No In-Service or Trainings except

Fall/Winter Training

Work 5 hrs/wk at front-desk in hall

from hours of 9pm-1am

N/A

University of

Victoria

(Vancouver)

No Stipend Single Room valued

at $4872 Meal Plan valued at approx. $800

3 programs/month + assist with 2 large scale

programs/year

RAs On-Duty 1 day a week, 1 weekend night

each week and 1 Sunday a month

RAs must attend 4-6 In-Services per year (approx

2 hrs. per session)

N/A RA internet/phone is

paid for by University

University of

Washington (WA) No Stipend

Single/Double Room valued at $4077-

$5010

Gold Level Meal Plan valued at

$3060

10 (Fall Qtr) 7 (Winter Qtr) 7 (Spring Qtr)

RAs On-Duty once a week and

couple weekends per

term

1 In-Service per Qtr.

1 RA Workshop per Qtr.

Serve on 1 Educational Committee Serve on 1

Campus-Wide Committee

$90.00 on Husky Card (Non-Resident Dining Plan). Can use this for laundry and at restaurants

around town

Western Oregon

University (OR)

1st yr = $75/month 2nd yr=$100/month 3rd yr= $125/month

Single Room valued at $4930

Meal Plan valued at $3225 ($1365 in

meal points & $1960 in overhead)

6 per term 3 Com. Development

2 Social 1 Educational

1 Com. Service per year

RAs On-Duty once per week

and 2 weekends per term

1 In-Service training per

month (approx. 2 hours)

RAs must work during at least 2

weekend programs each term

N/A

continued from page 5


Hidden Socioeconomic ClassRules apply to a range of issuesfrom how different classes valueprofessions, money oreducation, as well as views ondestiny and love. What meanssomething to one group may notmean the same thing to another.The classes have differentideals, different ways of thinkingand different value systems. Asin any other situation wherethere aref u n d a m e n t a ldifferences, it isimportant tonote that evenwhen theclasses differ inviews it doesnot mean thatone class isright and theother is wrong,these issues just ARE.

As educators if werecognize and understandsocioeconomic differences wewill be better equipped to reachstudents both on a personallevel and educational level. We,as housing professionals realizethat we need to be sensitive toall students, but class is one ofthe more challenging ‘isms’ tofocus on. Class is somethingwe were taught not ask about,even in our own homes we werenot to ask how much moneymom/dad made, nor askquestions to others about theirsalaries. Class seems to be thelast forbidden ‘ism’ to discuss.

Though a new study showsthat “today’s freshmen arefinancially better off than everbefore, and the gap is widening,(between upper and lower classstudents) a report on 40-yeartrends in higher education

shows. Freshmen in 2005reported median family incomes60% higher than the nationalaverage, says the report,released today by UCLA’sCooperative InstitutionalResearch Program. In 1971,incomes were 46% above thenational average.” (USA Today,April 9, 2007.) Realizing that in2005, college tuition and feesrose 5.9 percent at a four-year

p r i v a t eins t i tu t ion($21,235) and7.1 percent ata four-yearp u b l i cins t i tu t ion($5,491), its h o u l dsurprise noone that thec o l l e g e

enrollment gap between low- andhigh-income Americans iswidening, even as the economicvalue of a college degreecontinues to increase?

However, according toRuby Payne, poverty is a biggerissue then just money. Studentsfrom poverty have a differentview on education, money,driving force, & time. Thoughstudents may aspire to move upa class in their lifetime, toactually move around in classesone must be willing to give uprelationships with those theylove the most, family and friends‘back home.’ For students frompoverty they have to begin tolearn the rules of other classes,and by doing this create a greatdivide from where they camefrom.

Some of these rules areoutlined by Ruby Payne in herresearch around Hidden Rules

as outlined in the followingexamples:

One key difference betweenpoor and middle class are viewson educations, and planning forfuture. Middle class individualsbelieve that education is crucialfor making more money andclimbing the ladder for successand these individuals developthe ability to plan at an early age,making decision that willpositively affect their future. Forstudent that comes from upperclass, education is seen as a wayto continue to make connectionswith others in the same classranking. However, studentsfrom poverty see education assomething abstract and difficultto understand and grasp. Howcan we help them see educationin more concrete ways?

Looking more closely atsome of the other Hidden Rules,we see thatstudents frompoverty live forthe moment, andthough they valueeducation, theybelieve that theirfuture is alreadyplanned out,(destiny) sochoices they makein the present willnot and don’timpact their lives. Middle classlive for the future and planningfor what will happen next, andironically, upper class often livefor the past and the legacy thatcomes with being wealthy.

Another example of theclasses viewing thingsdifferently involves money andhow money is managed. Forupper class, money is seen assomething to be invested, (of

course to help you get moremoney in the future), middleclass sees money as somethingto manage, and people that havelived most of their life in povertysee money as something to bespent, the sooner, the better,without much focus on savingany. How this plays out for oureducational systems is inhelping student from lowerclasses fund their education. Itis “estimated that 80,000 to140,000 qualified students fromthe poorest families did notpursue college degrees eachyear because they believe theycould not afford it” (Burd, p.A18).

If we look at the most visibleexample of food you can clearlysee one of the interestingdifferences between classes.With those in poverty the issueof food often revolves around

h a v i n genough andg e t t i n ga m p l ea m o u n t sduring ameal (thinkof all youcan eatb u f f e t s ) ,w h e r emiddle classfocus much

more on the taste and flavor offood, asking “was it good,” andlastly upper class cares mostabout the presentation of food,does it look appetizing andpresented beautifully (thoughoften not a lot of it.). Thiscategory is a very clear exampleof how the classes vieweveryday life things in suchdramatically different ways.

exploring hidden socioeconomic class structuresthe nwacuho past president takes an in-depth look at classism

timi tullisAlaska’s Regional Boarding Schools

One key differencebetween poor and

middle class are viewson educations, andplanning for future.

We can and musthelp students realize

they can and dohave a huge role intheir own future and

fate. . .

continued on page 13


We can and must helpstudents realize they can and dohave a huge role in their ownfuture and fate AND help themplan for future, set aside goals,make good decisions that willbenefit them for later in life.Higher Education can help thesuccess of lower class studentsby helping them set goals and/or vision of something theywant to be or have and helpingthem get to these goals. We canbe that “Someone” whether it besponsors, advisors, or mentorsto help them succeed in theirgoals. Lastly we need to helpthem find the specific talent orability and provides an

opportunity for them to use theirtalents.

As educators in highereducation, we have gotten goodat helping underprivilegedstudents gain power andbecome successful. We cancontinue to help students byacknowledging the differencesof socioeconomic class. AsPutten (2001) says that“feeling out of place on acollege campus was not the soledomain of students of color, gay,lesbian, bisexuals, andtransgender students, studentswith disabilities, or womenstudents” (p. 16). A sense ofbewilderment about social

The Oregon State University campus wasextra busy on February 17th of this year.Student leaders from across the region metat Milam Auditorium on the Oregon Statecampus for the opening of the 2007 BeaverLeaders Leadership Conference. This yearmarked the 7th annual Beaver LeadersLeadership Conference (BLLC) hosted bythe Laura Bennett Beaver Chapter of theNational Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH)at Oregon State University (OSU). This daylong student leadership conference hadthree simple goals hoping to be met by theend of the time the conference was over:

*Provide a networking time for studentleaders on the OSU campus and across theregion

*Provide informative program sessionson a variety of leadership topics

*Have fun!From feedback that was received and

observations that were made by the hostcommittee, these goals were met and evenexceeded. Students that attended theconference gained more knowledge andinformation that will help them to continueto develop and strengthen their leadershipskills throughout the rest of this academicyear and into the future.

There were 80 students present at theconference during the opening keynote

given by Scott Etherton, AssistantDirector for Residential Education atOSU. Following the keynote werefour program sessions with fiveindividual programs in each session.Each program session lasted for 50minutes. Each of the programs waswell attended and some of the topicswere: 411 on Leadership, MarketingYour Leadership Skills, Turning YourHousing Experience into a Resume,Late Night Programming and CriticalThinking. The quality of theprograms and the presenters was very highthis year and the conference attendeesbenefited greatly from this. After theprogram sessions were over there was apizza feed and an informal wrap up from theday.

The most exciting and encouraging partof the conference was the number ofstudents from around the region that wereable to attend. There were 20 students thatdrove at least 3 hours each way to be a partof the Beaver Leaders experience from St.Martin’s College in Lacey, WA. There werealso 7 students from Linfield College,7 students from Western Oregon Universityand 3 students from Portland StateUniversity. Many thanks go out especiallyto these student leaders that traveled to

participate in this day long conference, yourefforts made a lasting impact on those thatattended and presented, thank you.

For more information on BLLC or howto host a day long leadership conferenceon your campus, feel free to contact theNRHH Chapter at OSU [email protected]. Thechapter would be more than happy toexplain the process that has been in placeto host this conference each year.

Thank you again to those that came andparticipated in this great conference thisyear. Keep your eyes and ears open for the8th annual Beaver Leaders LeadershipConference coming your way in Februaryof 2008.

beaver leaders leadership conferenceBrian StroupOregon State University

norms and the educationalenvironment was a commontheme for students from poverty(Borrego, 2001).Sources:Burd, S. (2002, January). Riftgrows over what keeps low-income students out of college.The Chronicle of HigherEducation, 47(8), A51-A52.Payne, RK (1995). A framework:Understanding and workingwith students and adults frompoverty. Baytown. TX: RFTPublishing.Borrego, S. (2001, November-December). Social class in theacademy. About Campus, 6(5),31-32.

congratulationsMichael Stroup, assis-tant resident director,from Oregon State

University is the 2007NWACUHO ACUHO-I

New ProfessionalsScholarship recipient.Check out the websiteto read Mike’s winning

submission.www.nw-acuho.org

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Kathryn Magura leads a sesson at Beaver Leaders.


The 2007 NWACUHO annualconference was a greatopportunity for institutions toshare ideas and resources, andcontribute to the collective well-being of housing and residencelife programs. Recognized as theBest of the Northwest at theconference — Who Moved MyParadigm: Opening theGateway for InnovativeCustomer Service — presentedby Josh Ashcroft and Josh Ganafrom Oregon State Universityprovided a framework on how agroup of committed individualshave changed how OSU doesbusiness.

In 2005, University Housingand Dining Services (UHDS) atOregon State University wasfacing declining retention, loweroccupancy, and room for growthin student services. The PRIDEin Service program was just whatthe doctor ordered as aninnovative solution to theseissues. Through sharedleadership and an attention totraining, accountability/recognition, and marketing, thedepartment is currently in themidst of substantial culturalchange.

Focusing on the coreelements of PRIDE –Presentation, Responsiveness,Individualized attention,Developed systems, and Executeour mission – UHDS employeesin all areas have approachedtheir work in a different way. Asthe program continues to infusethe UHDS culture, students are

Josh AshcroftEastern Washington University

the ultimate winner in having theExperience of a Lifetime™.

After a year of defininggoals and initiatives the PRIDEin service program was launchedin the Fall of 2006. Posters, logs,and buttons were placed in alloffices across UHDS.

Additionally, hundreds ofstudents and staff participatedin PRIDE in Service traininginitiatives. With segments forfront line and leadership staff,the departmental goal is to trainall employees on the customerservice philosophy within a termof starting employment. Thesecond phase of PRIDE inService training rolled outWinter 07, allowing staff to takethat next step to provideexcellent service in their day today work. Phase 2 consists of atraining series over the courseof the next three months, withone session per month—andwill culminate in a certificationin customer service for thosewho attend all of the sessions.

On the recognition side, thepopular Pillar of Excellenceprogram has transitioned intothe Pillar of PRIDE program.Under this program, any UHDSemployee can be recognized forproviding excellent service, andin recognition receiveincremental discounts at UHDSdining facilities. A newrecognition initiative wasrecently introduced incomplement to the Pillarprogram—“We Noticed You”cards. Department Operations

Team members have these cardsavailable to give out on the spotto staff who are observedcreating the Experience of aLifetime. Cards are redeemablefor a gift certificate to a localvendor.

While still early in theimplementation of the PRIDE inService program, all indicationsare that it is a resoundingsuccess. Current occupancy is1% higher than thecorresponding time period lastyear, 72 less students have

cancelled their UHDS contracts,and Fall 2007 applications are upnearly 320. If the trendcontinues, OSU in for a greatyear.

Contact Josh Gana([email protected])for more information or attendWho Moved My Paradigm:Opening the Gateway forInnovative Customer Service atthe 2007 ACUHO-I conferencein Seattle.

customer service initiativefocusing on oregon state staff efforts

2007 best of the northwest program

Josh GanaOregon State University


We all could use some help when it comesto motivating our staff. So, when theopportunity came for a drive-in conferenceat UBC in November on the subject, therewere many attendees ready to learn all theycould.

The speaker was Lorne Williams fromthe University of Lethbridge, and his aimthroughout the day was to get us to thinkabout how we like to bemotivated and, in turn,how we can use thisinformation to motivateour staffs.

When the group wasposed the question“What motivates you?”the variety of answerswas amazing – fromchocolate to vacationtime to pride, it seemed likeevery member of the group had a differentidea of what motivated them. This, of course,is true with any group; a good supervisor isone who recognizes this and tailors theirinteractions with each staff member to bestsuit their motivators.

As the day unfolded, Lorne discussedthe differences between intrinsic andextrinsic motivators; those that come fromwithin ourselves and those that are imposedon us by others. We discussed Theory Xvs. Theory Y, the classic carat vs. the stickdebate. Next was expectancy theory, that is,if a reward is offered, is this reward realistic?If not, then it isn’t really a motivator at all.

Increasing intrinsicmotivation is one of thebest ways to motivate,as this will feel not likesomeone is telling you todo something, but ratherthat you feel like youneed to do it.

There are somethings to keep in mindwhen doing this, namelymaintaining a sense of

choice, sense of competence, sense ofmeaningfulness and sense of progress. If,at the end of the day, you feel like you aredoing something that you choose to do, thatyou are good at, that makes a difference andaccomplishes something, you are more

Scott GrahamUniversity of British Columbia

likely to do that task. If you can increasethese motivators in you staff, it won’t evenfeel to them like you motivated them at all,they’ll just want to do it.

Throughout all of the discussion ofthese motivation theories I couldn’t help butthink of how they applied to my ownsituation. Which theory would I have toapply to each of my staff members? Wouldany of them apply at all? Every supervisorfaces the same thought at some point: whatmotivates my team? In my own situation, Ihave thought about using nearly every facetof motivation I can think of – we havebrainstormed as a group what motivates us,journaled individually about it, and had oneon one meetings about motivation.

The common element is to alwaysremember that there is no cookie-cutterformula for how to motivate people. Humanbeings are extremely complex and theirbehaviour is influenced by many factors,both internal and external. When trying tomotivate your staff, keeping this in mind iskey to getting the most out of your team.

Every supervisorfaces the same

thought at some point:what motivates my

team?

a lesson in staff motivation

NWACUHO is excited to announce new functionality to theorganization website – www.nw-acuho.org. Online forumsare now available, covering a myriad of topics. This featurewill allow NWACUHO members to communicate with eachother on electronic bulletin boards related to specific focusareas. Current forums are set up for general NWACUHObusiness, NWACUHO committees, housing and residencelife functional areas, and member states and provinces.

To access this new feature, point your web browserto www.nw-acuho.org and click on the “online forums” link in

nwacuho online forums now availablethe left menu bar. Anybody is able to view posts; however, tomake your own contribution you will need to complete a quickregistration process that requires a valid email address.

As always, you can check out the NWACUHO websitefor the latest news and information, regional job postings,conference updates, executive committee information, andmuch more. If you have feedback related to the website, contactJosh Gana at:

[email protected].


it is about the food

Four years ago we, Josh, a new RD, andDale, the first but now seasoned Faculty inResidence at OSU, attended a campusmeeting. Dr. Tom, a faculty presenter, sharedhis approach to student engagement. Healso discussed his plan for student-facultypartnerships. He proposed his plans to thefinest detail. When someone asked if heplanned to serve treats, he retortedemphatically, “It’s notabout the food!” Aswe, Dale and Josh,exited the MemorialUnion together andwalked back to ourhomes at Halsell Hall,we glanced and smiledat one another andthen we giggled.Shaking our heads wes i m u l t a n e o u s l yspurted, “Of courseit’s about the food!”We listed all the activities we were engagedin at Halsell, all the things we did to buildcommunity together.... Every one of theminvolved food! There were so many, but hereare a few highlights:1) House hours: This weekly event lastedfor 2-3 hours and occurred in Faculty inResidence’s home (apartment). The aromaof fresh baked cookies during House Hourssent a welcoming message that invitedstudents into a faculty member’s home.2) Moonlight Breakfast: This end of theterm event served food to students in ourdining halls before finals week with facultyand staff across campus (even thepresident flipped pancakes!). The messagesent was very clear, “We know you areworking hard and studying and weappreciate you!”3) Movie Nights: This event occurredonce or twice a month, the Residence Lifestaff would pick the movie and facultymentors would come on campus and bringhomemade dishes and help facilitate aconversation after or sometimes even

faculty-residential partners reflect on their successes

during a movie. Some movies were reallytough; we’d have to stop the movie just tocatch our breath. Food was comforting.4) Birthday Parties: In the halls we tried tohonor everyone’s birthday from residentsto staff, to guests, to faculty and even theCarrie Halsell, for who the hall was named.Cakes and treats were so important that theresident director had an oven installed for

community use.5) T r a v e l i n gHallway Dinners:Many spontaneouspot lucks sprung tolife and moved fromroom to room. Thesedinners providedsocial caring aspeople shared bestrecipes (and theirworst). Stories andjokes wereexchanged. Faculty,

residents and staff meandered down thehalls, enjoying chat and tasty dishes. Theconversations were creative and the disheswere sometimes disastrous but not oneneighbor ever complained!6) “The Event”: Each year we honoredwinter holiday traditions in our hall and weput on a ‘black tie’ event. Each year thisevent glowed with a magical light. Halls thatwere empty suddenly came to life at 9 o’clock.Holiday sparkles, streamers, stars, balloonsand bubbly drinks in champagne glassesfizzed. Gourmet appetizers were served onsilver trays by volunteers who wheredressed to the ‘nines’. Residents from otherhalls were green with envy! Students wouldenter the hall, look around wide eyed, runupstairs, throw off their sweats and put ontheir fancy duds and come down to enjoythe festivities. Then, sadly, at midnight, likeCinderella’s carriage, all would disappear. Inthe morning only a tell-tale sparkle or twowould remain on the floor.7) Chew and Chat: Once a term, theFaculty-in-Residence invited other faculty

partners to dine with students in the dininghall. Residential Life and Educationprovided the resources to cover meals. Greatconversations were had by all. Students andfaculty were encourages to sit togetherbased on academic disciplines; however,more often, conversations emerged abouthobbies, current events, movies, music,politics and life on campus.

All our programs involved faculty,students, and residence life staff comingtogether to break bread. We served foodand always planned treats to match thetheme. Food built community in Halsell Hall.During our days of community service,breakfast was served. Summer BBQshonored visiting international students andsaid, “Glad you are here at OSU!” Dr. Dalemade tea and biscuits for resident assistantsshe mentored. Her husband, Dr. Bob madelunch for his mentees; baked pasta was anall time favorite.

As we continued our stroll togetherthrough the quad we reflected on why webelieved food was so important to us andour students. First, students were alwayshungry, especially at 9:00 at night when mostof the food services were closed. Homecooked food was one way for students tohandle their home sickness. The act ofbreaking bread with another creates a senseof belonging. Sharing food is basic to careand concern. When every thing is stressful,and life is very stressful for students, a warmcup of cinnamon apple cider can help calmthe nerves.

Throughout our partnership, we bothhonored and capitalized (not just on food)on our deep understanding of thedevelopmental needs of our studentneighbors. We knew them academically andsocially. From day one we knew that if wewere successful together we could betterserve the residents of Halsell Hall. Our credowas always watch each other’s back andsupport one another’s activities. In our two

Josh Ashcroft and Dale-Elizabeth PehrssonOregon State University


Throughout ourpartnership, we both

honored and capitalized . . .on our deep understanding

of the developmentalneeds of our student

neighbors.


years together the following nine tenetshelped guide our way to success.1) Meet and meet regularly: check-inweekly and have a formal planning meetingat least once a month. Both parties wereexpected to bring agenda items. Set cleargoals and deadlines (know who is going todo what by when).2) Focus on our different strengths androles: Capitalized and share with oneanother our unique perspectives on studentlearning and engagement.3) Find common passions and strengths:Find projects that you both are interestedin working on together.4) Establish clear boundaries: Make surethat each of you understands your roles

within the hall. Example: Who deals withconduct and who doesn’t.5) Communicate! Communicate!Communicate: Find a system that works foryou, for us email was best. Have a code!What does the faculty-in-residence reallyneed to attend? Our code was numerical, itworked like this: #1 Must be there, #2 Wouldbe nice if you can make it, and #3 For yourinformation, attendance isn’t essential. Ifyou prioritize, you get the best bang for yourbuck on everyone’s time.6) Plan: During those formal planningmeetings and check-ins we would not planonly for the upcoming week but term to term,and more importantly the entire academicyear. Everyone’s time is important; faculty

members’ free time is very precious soplanning in advance allows them to engagefully.7) Celebrate: Find ways to acknowledgethe efforts of all, we gave OTM’s, cookedend of the year breakfast, gave fun and sillypresents, wrote thank you cards, huggedone another and poured many cups of Java!8) Develop Trust: Follow through withwhat you say you’re going to do.9) Serve Food: Make it good, make itcount, and make the aroma inviting!

We had a great time in our two yearstogether. We still meet, connect and chat.We laugh when we remember one year laterafter Dr. Tom’s initial presentation we wentto another presentation. This time, Dr. Dalesat next to “Dr. Tom” and asked him howhouse hours were going. He looked at hersheepishly and he said, things were kind ofslow in the beginning but then they pickedup. Dr. Dale said, “Really, what happened?”Dr. Tom whispered, “I started bakingcookies.”Josh Ashcroft, former Area ComplexDirector and Dr. Dale Pehrsson, Collegeof Education served together as Faculty-Residential Partners for Oregon StateUniversity from 2003-2005.

The 45th annual NWACUHO Conferencefeatured the sixteenth “New Professional CaseStudy Competition”. Over 20 participantsformed competing inter-institutional groupsand were given the challenge of addressing theperceived “clash” between the needs of newprofessional full-time entry-level staff(Resident Directors) to carry out their jobsearches into summer and early fall as neededfor their on-going professional developmentwith the needs of housing programs to determine(and hire) suitable staff for the followingacademic year. Concerns, assumptions, andoptions were discussed and explored withvigor! The teams, posing as consultants, wereasked to propose a recommendation to thehousing department of fictitious NorthwestCollege. In the end, there were two winningteams:

Jill Yashinsky (Gonzaga University) &Trevor Rempel (University of Calgary) and

Adam Martin (University of BritishColumbia), Darcy Hume, & Morgan Bauer(University of Washington)

Congratulations to both winning teams fortheir ingenuity, depth and scope of problem-solving, and the milti-faceted considerationsthat comprised their winning presentations.

2007 case study competition


Alaska Pacific UniversityWe have a had a busy & full spring at Alaska PacificUniversity! We completed our Resident Assistant &Peer Advocate staff selection process in March, andwe will have a strong mixture of new & returning staffmembers for the 2007-08 school year. We have alsorecently completed our Room Selection & Sign-up forthe coming school year, and 65% of our current campusresidents have elected to return to live on-campus forthe coming year. This is a 10% increase over last year,likely due to the expanded opportunities for upper-class student housing with the opening of our newstudent apartment building, Segelhorst Hall. Inaddition to the opening of a new building this Fall,APU will also be offering Theme Houses in ourUniversity Village Houses for the 2007-08 school year. Students submitted applications detailing their themeidea, including program ideas they will incorporateinto their living area. Each house will be given a budgetof $500 to spend in the course of the year to meet programmingrequirements, and will have a staff or faculty advisor to help meettheir goals. The Theme Houses we will have this year include aNordic Ski House, the Arts & Entertainment House, the OutdoorPursuits House, and the Culinary House. APU is in the final stages of our search for a new AssistantDirector for Residence Life & Student Activities position. Joe Evanswill be leaving this position to pursue his graduate studies at OregonState University, and he will be greatly missed by the students,staff & faculty at APU. (APU’s loss will certainly be OSU’s gain!) The end of the school year will be busy with annual campus eventsincluding the APU Honors Assembly, Spring Festival (featuringthe ever-popular “Mechanical Salmon”) and Earth Day celebrations.Alaska’s Regional Boarding SchoolsAs our 6 year Resiliency in Residence Life project is coming to anend as the school year enters its final days. It is hoped that at the3 regional boarding schools, the ground work has been laid and theprofessionalism of the housing area will continue. Galena SchoolDistrict attended OPE and has successfully filled all openedpositions with candidates that were met during the job fair. We willintroduce the staff in the fall newsletter. Nenana’s Living Center isgoing through a lot of change as many of their staff are moving onthis year. They still have positions open and if you are interestedin learning more about what is available in Nenana contact timitullis at [email protected]. Mt. Edgecumbe is the most up in the airwith much uncertainty for next year. The school is waiting to hearthe results of the state budget to see if the grant funded positionswill be included in monies for the school. The team would like tothank all those that helped contact their legislators and encouragesupport of these schools.

Lastly, timi tullis spent a lot of time working with the Coalitionof Residential Education (CORE) team on planning their annualconference. It was a great opportunity to work with regional highschools across the country, attempting to help them professionalizetheir housing practices. This is the second year in a row that shehas been involved with this conference and this year she keynotedone session.University of Alaska AnchorageUAA Residence Life has recently been recognized for its work topromote student success. On April 11, the Department of ResidenceLife and Advising & Testing Center received the Chancellor’s Awardfor Exemplary Achievements in Internal and/or ExternalPartnerships. They received the award due to the impact of theircollaborative efforts to integrate a College Survival Skills courseinto the First Year Experience Residence Hall.

Another way Residence Life has been recognized is that theAlaska Native and Rural Outreach Program Coordinator positionhas received permanent funding. The ANROP Coordinator providesstudent services in the Cama-i Room, a welcoming place for allstudents that addresses the needs of Alaska Native, NativeAmerican, and rural students. Student use of the Cama-i Room hasgrown tremendously since it opened in October, 2005.

In other news, the UAA Residence Hall Association has wonapproval to build a new recreational field on the residential campus.The Aviation living-learning community in East Hall is expandingto the Templewood Apartment Complex where three new AviationHouse’s will open. Finally, Residence Life is collaborating with theCenter for Community Engagement and Learning to open a ServiceHouse.

state and provincial updatesALASKAMichael Votava

University of Alaska - Anchorage


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The mechanical salmon at APU’s Spring Festival.


University of Alaska FairbanksRoom selection for Fall 2007 and Spring 2008started April 11; students started lining upin the MBS complex the previous night tosecure rooms on the same floor in theirpreferred halls. The Residence Life staff wasvery busy for three days helping toaccommodate our residents.

An annual tradition at UAF isSpringfest; it will take place April 26-28. TheStudent Activities Office works hard toprovide a weekend that our students usefor rest and relaxation in a variety of ways.Family and Graduate Housing will be hostinga pig roast for our resident families duringthis time. Members of the UAF Jazz bandwill provide music and entertainment for allto enjoy. For our younger residents theactivities should be a hit.University of Alaska SoutheastUAS experienced a drop in total enrollmentfor the Spring Semester, to include thehousing occupancy, and many institution-wide initiatives to develop more intentionalretention and student success programshave been called for by the Chancellor.

state and provincial updates

Residence Life will likely be instructing aseries of courses beginning in the fall undera new course listing of Human DevelopmentStudies, offered through the Educationdepartment. Courses will include Leadershipand Helping Skills in the CollegiateEnvironment, a Resident Assistant/PeerAdvocate training course, Substance UseEducation, Student AssociationLeadership, Personal Health & Wellness,and a 3-credit Global Perspectives coursethat will allow students to travel abroad inthe month of May. Incoming first-yeardegree-seeking students will have learningcommunities constructed by clusteringclasses of math, English, and a first-yearseminar; it is planned for the seminar to betaught in the Housing complex. Additionally,UAS will attempt to establish its first living/learning communities in Banfield Hall by fall.One will be offered for Natural Sciences andanother for the Humanities. UAS is alsoimplementing Gender-Neutral housingoptions in the upperclass apartments inorder to be more proactive with LGBTIQhousing accommodations.

A UA statewide food service contractis anticipated to begin May 7, which willadd a convenience store to the UAShousing complex by the start of the fallsemester. This change will also result in a$200 board plan cost each semester forupperclass apartment residents, who havenever been required to purchase any amountof board in the past. Meanwhile, renovationsof the Mourant Building will commence inJune to restructure the work environmentfor the departments within Student Services.

ALBERTAA warm “Hello” from sunny Alberta! I hopethis finds everyone doing well as we winddown from the end of the academic year.On March 29th and 30th, 2007, Residence andHousing professionals from institutions allacross Alberta met in Lethbridge for theSpring Annual General Meeting of the RLPA(Residence Life Professional Association).This group meets twice a year to discussand focus on housing issues as well as takepart in professional development activities.

This year’s Spring AGM was special inthat the RLPA celebrated 20 years as anAssociation dedicated to connectingAlberta institutions dealing with Residenceissues. Currently the RLPA hasapproximately 28 institutions in itsmembership (with members from Alberta,British Columbia and Saskatchewan). On theevening of the 29th the celebration beganwith a brief history of the organization by 3of its founding members: Mark Chytracek,University of Alberta Augustana Faculty;

Kim Sullivan, Lethbridge College; GleniceGrover, Red Deer College

The evening continued withrecognition of members who have beeninvolved in the organization for 5, 10, 15 and20 years. At this time Randy Maus (the pastRLPA President) awarded Randy Fines (thecurrent RLPA President) the Josie Lamothememorial award for his contributions to theAssociation and to his institution.Congratulations Randy.

The attendees were fortunate enoughto engage in 2 professional developmentseminars. Dr. Steve Ferzacca from theUniversity of Lethbridge talked about hisresearch on binge drinking at Universitiesand in Residence halls. Following Dr.Ferzacca’s presentation we were whiskedaway on an historical tour of Lethbridge viatour bus which ended at Lethbridge College.The second presentation was delivered byDerek Bly, the Communications andMarketing Manager at Lethbridge College.

His presentation covered communicationtypes & listening skills with a focus on howyour specific communication stylesdetermine the outcome of a conversation.On the second day of the AGM the attendeesand executive committee spent more timedealing with RLPA business and topics ofinterest. Important items to note were:

Elections for 2 positions on theexecutive committee took place. RobertRoutledge of St. Joseph’s College waselected as the new RLPA Secretary. MarkChytracek of the Augustana Faculty waselected as the RLPA President Elect.Congratulations Mark and Rob.

The 19th annual RLPA StudentLeadership conference will be held at theGoldeye Centre, in Nordegg, Alberta. Thedates are October 26-28, 2007.

The new RLPA newsletter “HallWays”was sent to member institutions on April10th, 2007.

Tim SiemensRed Deer College


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A student points to home on the map.


A motion was approved to institute a new professional awardfor members involved in the RLPA between 1 and 5 years ofexperience.

The committee is looking at incorporating an office personnelPD day into the annual Alberta Student Services Conference. Thenext viable conference we would look at incorporating this intowould be the 2008 ASSC, which is being held in Camrose, Alberta.

A highlight for the year for the RLPA was that this year wesigned our affiliation with ACUHO-I.

Another highlight that was discussed was the amazingNWACUHO Conference that was held in Calgary this last February.The two day AGM consistently ends with roundtable discussions.At this point each institution gave brief updates on how theirinstitution was doing, any changes they were looking into, concernsthat may be arising, or new innovations that they may be

undertaking. Specifically discussions included building newresidences, increase in rent, resources for professionaldevelopment, and updates on disruptive behavior trends. Thisyear’s Spring AGM was a great success, and many thanks go out tothe executive committee and to Laura, Kim and Connie for hosting.Future RLPA meeting are as follows: Fall Business Meeting inOlds, Alberta in November of 2007; Spring AGM in Camrose, Albertain March 2008

One last thing, I would like to thank Alicia Wight, the previousAlberta representative to NWACUHO for all of her hard work andcommitment to this organization. As my term as the Alberta rep hasjust begun, I have learned a lot from Alicia, and my interest injoining the executive committee is due largely in part to Alicia’senthusiasm for NWACUHO. I look forward to seeing you all soon.Hope you enjoy the summer months.

state and provincial updatesBRITISH COLUMBIAMalaspina University-CollegeRes Life Manager, Sandra Christensen, and Resident Advisor,Angelique Nash-Thurmeier, will present a workshop on “Seeds ofSustainability” at ACUHO-I in July.

We have strengthened community programs in residence: asof April 07 housing has collaborated with Department ofInternational Education to provide weekly bus trips to the grocerystore and back, with added trips during orientations for newInternational students; piloted a kitchen-waste composting program- to be expanded in 07-08; collaborated with SOLUTIONS/ asustainability network on various projects including the compostpilot project and the newly formed Campus Community Gardensproject.

We continue to develop new systems, policies & protocolsafter recent growth of our housing operation; cost of recentrenovations and building expansion continues to put a financialstrain on operations, so budgets remain tight.Exterior renovation of an older building (103 single rooms/ sharedbath) including roof, siding and windows; interior renovations werecompleted last year.Selkirk CollegeLast summer Kekuli House Residence started renovations and thissummer we will be completing the updating of our 100 bed unitswith new cook tops/fridges and cupboards.Simon Fraser UniversityOur staff have been involved in some amazing programs this yearwith Inspiration Projects – this project was started by studentswho wish to make a difference in residence, their community, andthe world. They have worked tireless to put on numerous programssuch as:Trick for Eat – Students went trick or treating in the local communityfor canned goods to be donated to the food bank; Sandwich Drive– Raised money to make 3000 sandwiches and handed them out to

people on the downtown eastside; Shadow Day – Hosted studentsfrom local high schools to experience SFU residence; World Vision– Adopted and support a child in India.

This year was challenging as there has been turn over of over½ of the staff, and most of those in senior leadership positions.Despite this the residence has increased its occupancy.We have also seen the creation of a comprehensive business planthat was taken to the board. This plan will see drastic changes tocapital projects and the funding sources for SFU Residence.

We have had many staff changes: we will soon be recruitingfor a new Director of Residence and Housing after being vacant foralmost a year. Mo McConnell, long serving member of the residenceteam is taking a year leave. Her leave has been filled by Liz Hilliard,who was a Residence Area Supervisor with us for 2 years. Whilewe are sad to see Mo leave, we are excited to see Liz in this newrole. We will be hiring 2 new Residence Area Supervisors, and areanxious to see those new staff members join our team. We havealso created a new position “Coordinator, Marketing andCommunications” for the department. This position is a pivotalrole in recruitment and retention of our students and conferenceguests.University of British Columbia – VancouverThe Programming Resource Centre celebrated its 5th birthday. Thiscentre provides support for the residence life staff with all of theirprogramming needs; researching, planning, implementing andadvertising. Not to mention that it’s also become a hot ‘hang-out’spot for the staff.

We have also seen the development of iStudy, an on-linecommunity that allows residents to find study partners, discussclass issues and create study groups. We have also continuedconstruction of Marine Drive Phase II. The second tower of thecomplex will be ready for occupancy in September 2007. There has

Evan HilcheyUniversity of British Columbia



been extensive renovation of the Totem ParkCommonsblock as well as renovation toWalter Gage Residence (painting, kitchenfloors). We are beginning the Child Careexpansion by replacing Kid’s Club.David Kiloh, Residence Life Manager PlaceVanier will be leaving Residence Life for aposition in Facilities and Maintenance.We’re excited that Clint Galloway hasdecided to join us as a Residence LifeManager for the upcoming year. Clintworked at the University of Alberta for anumber of years before going onto ColoradoState University to complete his MS inStudent Affairs.University of British Columbia – OkanaganWe have seen the opening of our two newresidence buildings as well as, successfulexpansion of our leadership program inresidence.

There has been an increase our wellnesssupport to students by adding ourcounselor-in-residence program.

We are experiencing ongoingconstruction and expansion. The secondphase of residence building will begin withhope to open some spaces for September(suite style). We have the possibility to seean increase in RAs to accommodate foropening of new building(s).University of VictoriaAt the University of Victoria our studentsare in exams and our residents are slowlybeginning to vacate their rooms. As webegin to close our residence halls andprepare for our summer conference seasonwe are also happy to report sunny days andcherry blossoms galore! We also had asuccessful wrap up with our Residence LifeProgram – read on for details!

We had a successful wrap up with ournew Resident Advisor In-Service TrainingProgram. Our RAs reported finding thetraining useful to their development as aleader and were also able to apply it to theirdaily role as an RA. We also saw successwith our end of year programming events inresidence – our biggest success being aformal with the theme of “Mid SummerNights’ Dream”.

Our Cluster Housing Compost Programthat we started for the first time this year, isjust winding up. We had a very successfulyear with over 200 students involved. We

saved over 1500Kg from the landfill overthe course of the last 6 months. We arelooking forward to seeing this program grownext year.

We are currently preparing for our 2nd

annual Destination UVic program which is aweekend vacation package for prospectivestudents and their parents. This programwill run in conjunction with our first everCampus summer “Open House”, that we arecalling Experience UVic. Destination UVicstudents and their parents will have theopportunity to stay in our residences fortwo nights, eat the food on campus, tourthe residences and campus, enjoy a double-decker bus tour around the city, meet ServiceDepartment reps, participate in a LearningSkills workshop, and much more. Theweekend will end with the highlight of theprogram - being able to choose theirresidence room for the following academicyear. On Saturday ofthe programDestination UVicparticipants will joinhundreds of otherprospective studentsand their parents to“Test Drive theCampus”. Thestudents will havethe opportunity tovisit the faculty oftheir choice to get afeel for what they willbe studying whenthey arrive here inSeptember. Eachdepartment ishandcrafting theirown welcome. Afterthe facultye x p e r i e n c e ,participants will go toan Information Fair,Student Network andhave the option ofattending a variety ofseminars. It isshaping up to be agreat weekend!

This summer wewill be sayinggoodbye to Krista

Watson and Imran Beg who have served asResidence Area Coordinators with us for 2and 1 year(s) respectively. Although sad tosee them go we do wish them all the bestwith their future endeavors.

In July we will welcome in two newResidence Area Coordinators. TrevorBerry, comes to us from the University ofBritish Columbia and has experienceworking in their Residence Life Program asa Residence Coordinator and a ResidenceAdvisor prior to that. Carlie Wiens joins usfrom UVic and she has experience workingwithin our Residence Life Program as aComplex Leader and a Resident Advisor aswell. Welcome Trevor and Carlie! We havealso hired our Resident Advisor andComplex Leader (senior student staff) teamsfor 2007-2008 academic years and are happyto welcome all of them to our residence lifeprogram as well.

FINANCING

DEVELOPEMENT/RENOVATION

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

MANAGEMENT

ACC

NYSELISTED

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Bringing student housing

to life

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SAIT RESIDENCESouthern Alberta Institute of Technology


state and provincial updatesWASHINGTON

state and provincial updatesOREGON

Eastern Washington UniversityWinter quarter was a whirlwind of action. The next step in workingwith the Strategic Plan included writing action plans for eachstrategic goal to be completed in 2007-08 It is the hope of theadministration that all goals will be completed within the next threeto five years. The most immediate action plan stems aroundstrengthening the living learning communities (LLCs), initiating a

David RubleWestern Washington University

Shelly ClarkOregon State University


Southern Oregon UniversityGreetings from Southern Oregon University! We have just begunthe Spring Term and are heading into the final stretch of the academicyear and find ourselves with plenty to share!

Just before Spring Break, SOU underwent an ACUHO-Iprofessional standards review. Members from all levels of theDepartment of Residential Education and Services participated invarious sessions. We are looking to have our results by the end ofApril and begin initiatives to better serve our students.

In April, we will be conducting the EBI survey with our residentstudents.

Fall Term 2007, we will begin a new staffing program inconjunction with the University Seminar Department that will bring3-4 live-in tutors/mentors into the Residence Halls and increase thenumber of upper class staff. This initiative is part of a three yearplan to create a First Year Experience.

Also, the Department of Residential Education and Serviceswill begin overseeing concessions at athletic events as a newbusiness venture.

As always, we are looking forward to seeing everyone soon atNWACUHO 2008. Until then, enjoy the beautiful weather!Oregon State University

OSU is currently experiencing positive results from adepartmental customer service initiative. Retention is up 1%,cancellations are down, and new applicants for 2007-2008 are upnearly 300.

On April 13, University Housing and Dining Services unveiledthe final product of “Trading Rooms: OSU Edition” — an eventwhere two design students took two residence hall rooms with$250 each and transformed each room into a home away from homein 12 hours. The day was filmed by New Media Communicationsstudents and produced into a television show, creating greatacademic partnerships and marketing residence halls.

A number of staff members have taken on new roles,responsibilities, and titles at OSU. Eric Hansen is serving as an

Associate Director, with responsibility for the Marketing,Assessment, and Communications unit. Dan Larson is serving asan Associate Director, with responsibility for the Operations unit. Josh Gana is serving as Assistant Director for Housing Services,overseeing residential services, assignments, and contracts. Longtime staff member Josh Ashcroft will be leaving OSU for an excitingopportunity in Admissions at Eastern Washington University.

Please welcome Jennifer Viña as the new Marketing andAssessment Coordinator!

OSU will be in the process of filling many roles. They will belooking internally first, and then externally if there is not someonethat would adequately fill the role. The department will be lookingfor a new Area Complex Director, a Family Housing Coordinator,and a Safety and Environmental Inspector. Please check theNWACUHO website for postings as they go external.OSU has been hosting some outstanding all campus “After Hours”events. These are events scheduled specifically to start after 10pm, and continue until 2 am. Throughout the year, the program hasbeen growing. Most recently, “After Hours” hosted a Friday the13th event that drew 1,700 students. We look forward to thecontinued growth of the program.

We will be opening a Gender Inclusive wing in one of theirresidence halls in the 07-08 academic year. This will be a safe placewhere “anyone can live with anyone.” The staff is extremely excitedabout all of the possibilities.

OSU hosted No Frills 2007: Get a Clue about Leadership andthe Beaver Leaders Leadership Conference in mid-February. Bothevents were extremely successful and were pivotal in building aregional community of student leaders.Western Oregon UniversityCongratulations go to Stephanie Shields and Brandon Neish.They were both regional “Of the Month” award winners in March.Stephanie won the award for First Year Student and Brandon wonthe award for Executive Board Member.

faculty in residence program, and increasing the student leadershipopportunities.

We have identified key faculty and departments on campus tohelp us with the LLCs and potential faculty to visit the halls. Wehave also collaborated with the Health and Wellness Office to getthe majority of our professional staff trained in Brief Alcohol


and other student programs will certainly be considered for anupcoming leadership celebration and awards ceremony in May. Hopefully many of you were able to be a part of the JointNASPA/ACPA conference in Florida. Our Director of ResidenceLife, Kimberlee Campbell, and Residence Life Coordinator, PaulaGreen, enjoyed presenting a round table discussion and sharingideas with other student affairs professionals. The session wascalled “Millennials at Work: The Changing Face of Student AffairsProfessionals.” This session focused on the impact that Millennialsare having on the way our departments function and the way weteach our students. Kirstin Mclaughlin, a second year Peer Advisorand one of our Residence Life interns, also attended the conferenceand will be a new professional to watch. Kirstin has been acceptedinto the College Student Affairs program at Azusa Pacific Universityand has accepted a position as an Assistant Resident Directorthere. We are very happy for her and pleased that our internshipprogram is meeting a goal of assisting students in exploring andtaking steps toward long-term career opportunities in studentaffairs. We are anticipating a smooth finish to the 06-07 academic year,and hoping the same for you!

Screening and Intervention for College Students to assist in teachingclass and building stronger bonds across campus.

Housing and Residential Life are engaged in a Housing MasterPlan Study to understand the needs of future students. A consultantwill be meeting with students, staff, and faculty to develop a plan toupgrade the current facilities or make a decision to build newresidence halls.We also have multiple student leaders coordinating a large budget(approximately $5k) party as an early sign up bonus for residentsreturning to the residence halls next year. The party will includethree bands from the west side of the state, food, and activities.

While our residents are thinking about returning next year, ourprofessional staff is also looking to their own future. We have twoconfirmed openings, a Graduate Community Director and aResidential Life Coordinator position. Another recent life changingevent was the marriage of one of our Residential Life Coordinators.A big congratulation goes out to Sonja!The Evergreen State CollegeGreetings from Greener Living! There are big changes in Residentialand Dining Services. John Lauer, our Director is leaving Residentialand Dining Services to take a position as Director of ResidentialLife and Housing at Colorado College. Since arriving at Evergreenin August 2004, John has made many positive contributions to ourcampus. On the financial side, he has increased the reserves andoverseen a $7.6 million bond-refinancing project, which has beenused to improve facilities for students in housing. In working withAramark, our contracted food provider, he has helped to greatlyreduce college costs associated with the food program, encouragedsustainable practices and developed a long-range plan for DiningServices. We have appreciated the clarity of John’s thinking, hisskills as a supervisor, his calmness during crisis situations, and hiswillingness to be available to students. John’s last day with us willbe June 15. We wish him and his family the best at Colorado College.

Luda Konshin our Resident Director for Apartment StyleHousing departes Evergreen on March 20th. She will be leavingthe state of Washington heading south to Austin, TX, where shewill pursue her life long goal of obtaining a degree in the culinaryarts.Gonzaga UniversityIt has been a year of successes at Gonzaga University. We haveeffectively moved from a student staffing model to professionalResidence Directors, developed an outstanding staff of studentleaders, had an impact in many students’ lives, and made significantconnections across campus. As the year draws to a close, our staffis reflecting on the amazing events of the year. Change was theconstant theme for us, and we are looking forward to a few monthsof summer quiet (from the Res Life side). Our Housing Staff aregearing up again for a predicted record number of incomingstudents, so I am sure that summer will not be totally quiet in theoffice.

We enjoyed catching up with many colleagues in Calgary andthe conversations started at the annual conference have continuedback on campus. We have spent hours talking about our millennialstudents, discussing innovative programs, and intentionallydeveloping our department. Coming in the next few weeks we willhave our first leadership kick-off event with student leaders from all

across campus. We are excited about this partnership – titled“Leading through Unity” – and how it will allow our students tosee the “big picture” at GU. We are also celebrating the end of theyear and the impending graduation of some of our best students.

Finally, we have made plans to attend ACUHO-I in Seattle thissummer. We’ll see you all there.Seattle Pacific UniversitySpring greetings from Seattle Pacific University! Our campus isblooming with flowers and many activities. As usual, this quarteris packed with annual happenings such as selection of studentleadership and professional staff for 2007-2008, celebration of a jobwell-done by the current leaders, and many exciting programs thatare rounding out a fantastic year. We have completed our PeerAdvisors selection for 07-08 and are beginning to providefoundational training through a spring quarter leadership coursetaught by our residence life staff. A few new Residence LifeCoordinators are being recruited as we will be saying goodbye tosome veteran staff members, we look forward to announcing moredetails in a future issue of Soundings as our hiring process becomescomplete. The Campus Houses and Apartments staff have continued todevelop the “Maji Mazuri” (clean water) program and have drawnin the campus and community to a worthy cause throughout theyear. Approximately $3000 has already been raised, with matchingfunds promised, toward installing clean water wells in Kenya. Themost recent event was a successful benefit concert and in a coupleof weeks a 5k run will take place at Seattle’s Green Lake Park. This,

Are you interested in submitting articles for futuresoundings issues? Please contact Emily Boling formore details on how you can get [email protected]

Check out additional web newsletter articles at: www.nw-acuho.org


Imagine enjoying a mocha latte with some of your closest colleagues, on an Argosy cruise liner, heading to Blake Island for a delicioussalmon bake. As you stand on the deck, you will see the beautiful Olympic Mountains and the sparkling Puget Sound. If you arelucky, you might even see pods of orca whales. The moment will be priceless!

The Host Committee welcomes delegates from around the world to our “Emerald City”. Seattle and the Pacific Northwest offer awealth of culture, recreation, shopping and culinary experiences for all. We are delighted to share the richness of our region, and wehope that your visit is memorable. Your hotel is just minutes away from Pike Place Market, the Seattle Center Monorail, the Nordstromflagship store, and a wide variety of wonderful restaurants. And of course, you will find an unlimited supply of Seattle’s celebratedcoffee. Come early, and stay late. Most of all, enjoy your time in our fair city!

Sincerely,Your Seattle Host Committee

don’t miss out on acuho-i 2007Jo

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Richard DeShields (Central WashingtonUniversity) shows off his western wear.

Members of the Univeristy of Calgary hostcommittee.

Kyle Cance (Washington State University)waits for the closing ceremonies to begin.

Zoe Woods(University ofVictoria) andBrian Stroup

(Oregon StateUniversity) at

the closingceremonies.

Jesse Andrews (Washington State University), Josh Gana (Oregon StateUniversity), and Jill Yashinsky (Gonzaga University) at the closingceremonies.

remember the time...photos from the 2007 nwacuho conference

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