the soundingsthe official nwacuho newsletter
northwest association of college and university housing officers
-Reflections on the NWACUHO Conference-A Guide to Engagement with NWACUHO-Careers in Student Affairs at the University of British Columbia
PresidentKelly AmmendoliaAssistant Director of Residence LifeUniversity of Puget Sound1500 N. Warner St. #1003 Tacoma, WA 98416-1003 253.879.3317 [email protected]
President ElectErik T. ElordiAssistant Director of Family Housing & Conference ServicesSouthern Oregon University1250 Siskiyou Blvd.Ashland, OR [email protected]
Past PresidentElaine AmesOperations and Marketing Manager, UHNSPCentral Washington University400 E. University Way, MS 7513Ellensburg, Washington 98926509.963.1838 [email protected]
TreasurerDavid AkanaAssistant Director for Residential EducationOregon State UniversityUniversity Housing & Dining Services102 Buxton HallCorvallis, OR [email protected]
SecretaryJenni ChadickAssistant Director of Residence LifeUniversity of Puget Sound1500 N. Warner St. #1003 Tacoma, WA [email protected]
Newsletter EditorRachel RasmussenResidence DirectorGonzaga University502 East Boone, MSC 2515Spokane, Washington [email protected]
Website Administrator Brian KerrickHousing Services CoordinatorUniversity of Washington, BothellBox 35855518115 Campus Way NEBothell, WA [email protected]
Products and Services CoordinatorEsther GainesArea CoordinatorGonzaga University502 East Boone, MSC 2515Spokane, Washington [email protected]
Alberta RepresentativeCraig WhittonResidence CoordinatorUniversity of Alberta1-044 Lister CentreEdmonton, ABCanada T6G [email protected]
British Columbia RepresentativeLawrence LamCoordinator, Community Development & Student LeadershipUniversity of Victoria.PO Box 1700 STN CSCVictoria BC V8W [email protected]
Washington State RepresentativeMichelle Primley BentonAdministrator for North Campus/Diversity InitiativesUniversity of WashingtonHousing & Food [email protected]
Oregon RepresentativeDawn SnyderOperations ManagerOregon State UniversityUniversity Housing & Dining Services102 Buxton HallCorvallis, OR [email protected]
Alaska-Yukon RepresentativeTammie WillisAssociate Director of Residence LifeKenai Peninsula College156 College RoadSoldotna Alaska [email protected]
executive board
Institutional Updates
the soundingsthe official NWACUHO newsletters
editorial and submission policies
Deadlines for publications are based on distribution needs, and therefore it is important that members honor the established deadlines. Material not received on time, or not used due to space limitations will be considered for use in the next issue. Because soundings is the official publication of an edu-cational association and reflects the professional standards of its members, necessary revisions will be made to ensure publication quality. soundings also
reserves the right to edit submissions for space requirements.
Authors bear full responsibility for references, quotations, and data accuracy of publications submissions. Authors also hold NWACUHO harmless from any liability resulting from publications of articles submitted for printing.
Be sure to clearly indicate the author(s) and institution(s) on all submissions. Permission is granted to reproduce portions of soundings’ contents with proper
attribution and credit to soundings.
Advertisements in the soundings should not be considered an endorsement. For information on exhibitor advertising rates please contact: Esther Gaines, Product & Services Coordinator at [email protected] or 509-313-4155.
Please send all submissions (articles, letters to the association, updates from around the region, and announcements) to:Rachel Rasmussen, soundings editor at [email protected]
**Please attach articles using MS word document or type the submission into an email.
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6A Guide to Engagement with NWACUHO
the soundingsthe official nwacuho newsletter
northwest association of college and university housing officers
12Careers in Student Affairs at the University of British Columbia
5Reflections from my First NWACUHO Conference
4Living in “The Now”
4 Spring 2013
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Living in “The Now”Drew Satter, Oregon State University
NWACUHO New Professional Scholarship Winner
I’ve been thinking lately of being more mindful and intentional in my life. Personally, I have been commit-ted to healthier living and professionally this is manifesting through my relationships as a resident director. When I think about how I’ve progressed through my career as a paraprofessional, graduate assistant, and profes-sional, I gain insight about the difference in influence that I’ve had. While my sphere of influence was small as a resident assistant, it was very potent among my floor, and to a lesser extent in my building. That dynamic has changed from when I was living next door to the same students I was directly serving; taking the same classes and sitting next to them cramming for the same finals. Compare that to life as a professional in an apartment without some of the linked shared struggles. Those are situations that I will not specifically experience again. My current sphere of influence as an RD is with my RAs, student leaders and other students in my building and on-campus. That is where I need to maximize my time. When I decided to go into student affairs when I was an RA, I was so excited to be a resident director. Prior to that, when I saw my oldest sister as an RA at Eastern Oregon University, I looked forward to the energy of working with college students. I am enjoying and have enjoyed each position thoroughly while looking for-ward to my next phase in life. The future can be full of possibilities and excitement, which is what draws me to it. With that, I feel like I sometimes don’t take advantage of the moments I’m currently allowed. It’s the futuristic moments that I enjoy, which can be the enemy of living and serving in the moment. It’s common knowledge that typically when one moves up the ranks in student affairs, that person deals less with students on an individual level. It’s my goal to help students across the board, whether that be imple-menting policy changes or creating a supportive living community. I need to be intentional about the opportuni-ties I have for student interactions while I am in my current position – the true meaning of living and serving in the moment.
This is also applicable to the professional staff we work with since there are many mentors and mentees we have the chance to foster relationships with. The people who we work with for a brief time may find oppor-tunities elsewhere, allowing your professional relationships to change and grow. It’s important to step back and take the time to recognize the talent and effort the people around us are demonstrating. Ultimately, it’s my goal that this will help raise awareness for working in the moment and focusing on, as author Echkart Tolle would say, to live in “The Now.” We have so many experiences that are available to us now, so I hope that my reflection might help a few with that. I’m wishful that when I’m in my next position I will continue to be intentional with my colleagues at that level, but then again, there I go looking into the future as I am prone to do…
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Reflections from my First NWACUHO ConferenceLea Griess, Oregon State University
Vennie Core Scholarship Winner
As the Vennie Gore Scholarship winner for NWACUHO 2013, I was granted the opportunity to attend my first NWACUHO conference. I am a first year graduate student in the College Student Services Administration program at Oregon State University, and am learning and growing immensely in my professional role in student affairs. NWACUHO is one of many new experiences that have contributed to my development as a professional in this field. Through presenting, attending presentations, and spending time with inspiring colleagues in the hous-ing field, I developed extensively as a professional by attending NWACUHO 2013. In my graduate assistant position for Academic Success and Engagement, I oversee the in-hall tutoring program at Oregon State University. By presenting on this program, I was able to share my knowledge and ex-perience with other colleagues who share my passion for students’ academic success, and learn from their expe-riences as well. A robust discussion was cultivated with my presentation, and out of that came a question about students who do not use the program. I had not thought to survey students who do not use the tutoring program before this discussion with colleagues from other institutions. Out of this my supervisor and I have piloted a survey for students who have not used this service, and hope to improve our program based on their feedback. The op-portunity to present on my experience with in-hall tutoring programs allowed me to learn from others in the field and develop as a professional. Attending other sessions around balance, supporting LGBTQ+ students and supporting first generation students expanded my knowledge as a professional. I was granted the opportunity to learn from experts in the field of housing and residence life, and have robust conversations with professionals around me. These presenta-tions and conversations allowed me to engage with, and develop my knowledge around different topics. I also had the opportunity to learn from successful professionals in the housing and residence life field of student af-fairs. These experiences with wise professionals in this field inspire me to learn and grow more in my professional career. Presenting, attending presentations and interacting with successful and inspirational professionals at NWACUHO really impacted my development as a student affairs professional. I learned many new things and shared in common experiences. I met many different and successful colleagues, as well as participated in a com-munity of learners. My experience at NWACUHO 2013, impacted my professional development in a significant way, and I was honored to be granted the opportunity to attend.
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A Guide to Engagement with NWACUHOKarla Carreras, University of Victoria
I first connected with NWACUHO when I attended the 2012 Annual Conference, hosted by Southern Oregon University in historic Ashland, Oregon. My experience at the conference was insightful, engaging and exciting. I left with a notebook full of ideas that I had collected from speaking with colleagues, information I had gained from the in-teresting and educational sessions I had attended, and strong feelings of reinvigoration for my work – which, as we all know, is so valuable in the middle of the semester.When I returned to my institution, I worked to implement many of the ideas that I took away from the conference, such as implementing our Room-mates 101 program, re-evaluating our institution’s Programming Model to better suit the needs of students living in our suite-style neighbourhood, im-proving communication with students and staff, and a number of other successful initiatives. These initia-tives improved my own work, as well as impacted the students and staff in the neighbourhood which I supervise and would not have happened had I not attended the conference. Still, I felt a separation from our association and whenever I thought “NWACUHO” I immediately as-sociated it with the Annual Conference, even though I knew there were many other opportunities that I just hadn’t yet explored. I was aware that there was more being offered beyond the conference once a year, but the truth is I really didn’t know where to start. To me, the idea of ‘getting involved’ with our regional association seemed promising and exciting, but also somewhat lofty and over-whelming.After speaking with a few colleagues about their own experiences with NWACUHO, it was very clear to me that the benefits were definitely worth more research into ways on how to get involved and connect with our association. As I am personal-ly interested in communications, I began by follow-ing NWACUHO on their social media
platforms to stay connected. I also spoke with my Provincial Representative and communicated to him my interest in becoming more involved, specifically with the Taskforces I had heard so much about during the conference. From this conversation, I was fortunate enough to have him connect me with the board member in charge of the Communications Taskforce and became involved from there. As a result of this, I immediately had a sense of involvement and belonging when I arrived in Tacoma this February for the Annual Conference. I was looking forward to reconnecting with the col-leagues I had met the year before, but was also excited to finally meet those whom I had been interacting with in months previous, over email and phone calls, in person. Just like in the residences we work in, there are so many ways to get involved with NWACUHO that are instrumental in not only making the most of your experience through personal and professional growth, networking, and resource-sharing, but to also give back to the Association that provides those opportunities for us.
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Here are a few ways that you can get involved:
Mentorship Program – whether you are participating as a mentor or a mentee, this program is a great way to connect with other members within the region, gain valuable experiences, and find support beyond your home institution.Volunteer your time and expertise – there are so many opportunities to give your time to NWACUHO. Whether it be volunteering at our Annual Conference, Drive-In Conferences, working on projects with one of the Taskforc-es, or participating in the Mentorship Program, these are great ways to work with other members!Social Media – NWACUHO runs both a Facebook page and a Twitter Account (search NWACUHO) which are great platforms on which to share resources, connect with others, contribute to the recent discourse in your field, and stay updated about what is happening within the region.Taskforces - NWACUHO currently has four Taskforces that are always looking for new membership to help them achieve their annual objectives. These Taskforces include the New Professional Taskforce, the Drive-In Conference Taskforce, the Communications Taskforce, and our newest addition, the Professional Development Taskforce.The Soundings Newsletter – good for you for taking the time out of your day to read this newsletter and stay updated on what’s going on in your region! I would encourage you to take your involvement one step further and consider contributing to future editions.Drive-In Conferences and First Friday Webinars– both of these options offer accessible opportunities to en-gage in ongoing professional development beyond the Annual Conference with other members within the region. Connect with your State/Provincial Representative – these folks work hard throughout the year to ensure that these and other programs are available to members like you. They are also great resources for you if you are interested in hearing more about how to get involved!These are only a few of the ways to connect with and support our regional association. If you’re looking to make the most of your experience as a member of NWACUHO, I would encourage you to explore any of these op-tions and find something that works for you!
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NWACUHO Soundings
Even More Ways to Get Involved with NWACUHO:
Be a Guest Blogger: If you love reading the member-submitted articles in Soundings as much as we all do, then you will be excited for this next initiative. Starting in May, NWACUHO will be featuring a monthly Guest Blogger on our website, www.nwacuho.org. We are looking for guest bloggers right now, so if you are interested in contributing one or two blog
posts for a month on a wide variety of topics in 2013 to share knowledge with your fellow members, contact:
Brian Kerrick at [email protected].
Join a NWACUHO Taskforce!NWACUHO Taskforces are in full swing! Coming out of the 2013 annual conference, members were enthusiastic and eager to being work on our four taskforces. This year, NWACUHO is proud to have four taskforces: Com-munications; New Professionals; Drive-In Conference and new this year, Professional Development. For
more information about the outcomes of each taskforce, please visit http://nwacuho.org/task-forces/ Our taskforces are always encouraging new membership. If you are interested in getting involved with any of
our taskforces, please email British Columbia Provincial Representative Lawrence Lam at [email protected] to sign up for a particular taskforce.
We look forward to working with you and learning from your knowledge and experience!
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Introducing your new Alaska/Yukon Representative:
Tammie Willis,Kenai Peninsula College
With the opening of our first residence hall in August, KPC is set to embark upon some major changes and given my history with SWACUHO and ACUHO, I know the support and resources that NWACUHO can potentially provide to young professionals and new programs. At the same time, I am no longer a new professional and as the proverbial “old dog,” I am very eager to not only continue my involvement on the regional level for NWACUHO but to continue my involvement in new ways. Whether it is building new relationships, recruiting new schools, forg-ing collaboration between institutions, mentoring new professionals or providing other supports, my interest has shifted from participating at the regional level to wanting to serve at the regional level. Being new to the region, I believe serving as the Alaska/Yukon Representative is a great opportunity for me to make that transition from participating to actually serving and assisting others as I to continue the work started by those that held the position before me.
the soundings
A look back at Tacoma....
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Mercer Court Student Apartments / Seattle, WashingtonUniversity of Washington
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NWACUHO Soundings
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Akana, Dave Oregon State UniversityAmes, Elaine Central Washington UniversityAmmendolia, Kelly University of Puget SoundArquette, Richard PACURHBelisle, Stephane Foliot FurnitureBenton, Michelle University of WashingtonBonafacio, Maria University of Alaska AnchorageBottemiller, Sandi Lewis & Clark CollegeBump, Teri American Campus CommunitiesCallister, Samantha University of Alaska AnchorageCarreras, Karla-Christina University of VictoraChadick, Jennifer University of Puget SoundConzen,Chris DeShields, Richard Central Washington UniversityDonahoe, Sheri University of OregonElordi, Erik Southern Oregon UniversityFitterer, Steve Mount Royal UniversityGana, Josh University of WashingtonGolz, Carolyn Lake Forest CollegeGriess, Leandra Oregon State UniversityHyatt, Jenna Central Washington UniversityJarrell, Matt University of Puget SoundJones, Russell Portland State UniversityKanikkeberg, DeeDee University of IdahoKlotz, Ann Marie Oregon State UniversityLam, Felicia UBCLam, Lawrence University of VictoriaLambeth, Laura University of WashingtonOliver, Stacy Lake Forest CollegePettay, Chad Skagit Valley CollegeRogers, Natasha Mount Royal UniversityRogers, Andrew Seattle Pacific UniversitySatter, Drew Oregon State UniversitySchmidt-Rogers, Deborah DePaul UniversitySchreiber, Pamela University of WashingtonSchuckman, Amy Reed CollegeSeraphin, Micheal Willamette UniversitySherbak, Susan University of WashingtonStafford, Debra Eastern Washington UniversityTeagarden, Rebecca Canadian Campus CommunitiesTharp, Daniel Southern Oregon UniversityTrayner, Elizabeth Willamette UniversityVan der Vaen, Ron DLR GroupVan Dusen, Gina University of OregonWhitton, Craig University of AlbertaWortman, Jill Gonzaga UniversityYoung, Carol University of British ColumbiaZawadiuk, Brett University of Alberta
The ACUHO-I Foundation Thanks You!
At the NWACUHO regional conference our attendees and corporate partners stepped up to the plate to raise money for the ACUHO-I Foundation! Over $5,700 was raised via individual pledges, raffle tickets, U Inspire Me cards and our $25 for 25 Challenge.
Thank you for your generosity and commitment to raise money to benefit the future of our profes-sion!
Ann Marie Klotz
Oregon State University
University Housing and Dining
102 Buxton Hall
Corvallis OR 97331
(541) 737-3612
Twitter: @annmarieklotz
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Careers in Student Affairs at the University of British Columbia, VancouverJoey Cheng & Amy Stewart, University of British Columbia
On December 3, forty students and twenty staff members from all corners of the University of British Co-lumbia, Vancouver campus gathered together at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre in the Chapman Learn-ing Commons for the third annual “Careers in Student Affairs”. The audience included undergraduate students, graduate students and alumni. Over half of the students in attendance were from Residence Life. This event was organized through collaboration between Student Housing and Hospitality Services and the Centre for Student Involvement & Careers. The event started with a panel of five staff members who work with a diverse range of students and all had a different path that led them to their current career. The goal of the panel was to ensure that the audience walked away with two idea-gems about the panel: their professional journeys and an understanding of the work they do. The panel discussed mentorship, networking and making connections, and diverse professional experiences. Following the panel, roundtable breakout discussions pro-vided the audience an opportunity to sit down with the panelists and other breakout discussion facilitators to ask more specific questions about topics they heard during the panel discussion, or topics that they brought them-selves. Based on the feedback from the event, many students feel like they took away the knowledge that the learning process and career path is different for everyone and to take ownership of it, and be open-minded. In addition, they took away some insights into networking, moving away from one’s home institution and taking risks to gain more experience, how grad school fits into the picture as well as the diverse nature of the field. In the years to come, we hope to provide this experience to students again and be able to focus more on tangible information about how the audience can learn about and find specific, entry-level opportunities in student af-fairs and provide more one-on-one time with the staff members at the event. Overall, we were thrilled with the success of this year’s “Careers in Student Affairs” event.
13 Spring 2013
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2013
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NWACUHO Soundings
Institutional UpdatesWashington
Washington State University Staffing Changes- In the fall, we welcomed 4 new members to our RED team, as well as, brought back one former RED. Christina Gilmore (Kent State), Britteny Alspach (Eastern Illinois), Jena Doolittle (Grand Valley State), and Aubrie Piper (Eastern Illinois) have all hit the ground running and have had a successful fall semester. Sarah Horn (Northern Arizona) returned back to WSU and has picked up right where she left off. We feel fortunate to recruit such high quality candidates and adopt them into the Coug family. In addition to our RED staffing changes, we have also had quite a few Central Staff changes. Karen Metzner has returned to WSU to serve as one of our Assistant Directors. She is filling the position left open by Lisa Lee Shriver’s departure to the DC area. We are currently looking to hire an Associate Director for the vacancy left open when Kari Fass took off to the Portland area. So despite being down one central staff member, things are going fairly smoothly. Finally, we have converted our GA position to a full time central staff position. The Coordinator for Leader-ship, Academic, and Diversity Initiatives position is in development and will be posted in the Spring. A lot of exciting staffing changes here in Pullman! Initiatives: We have established a Gender Inclusive Housing option in one of our residence halls for next fall. This initiative has been introduced in the past, but we did not have enough participation to move forward. This year, we are hopeful that we will be able to fill this new community with interested student. We are working closely with the Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center to assist us in this new adventure. Construction: Newly renovated Community/Duncan Dunn has been well received by students and staff and Northside Residence Hall construction continues to progress despite the snow and cold weather. We are excited about the new/renovated facilities and all the changes that are happening here on the Palouse!
UW Seattle Spring is a time for change here at the University of Washington, as our cherry blossoms hit their full bloom and Housing and Food Services works through our recruitment process. We are currently interviewing for our con-firmed and anticipated Resident Director openings, and encourage those interested to apply. In addition, as our new construction comes online, we are excited to add some great new positions on our team as we interview candidates for two new Facilities Manager positions and a new Complex Director position for the new Mercer Court apartment complex. It’s been an exciting time for our new buildings; our admissions preview tours have seen upwards of 750 people during our Monday and Friday sessions, and the student Housing Ambassadors have done an excellent job fielding questions from our prospective students and parents. The District market, our first campus grocery in the new Alder Hall, received the National Association of College & University Food Services 2013 “Best in the Business” Cam-pus C-Store Award for excellence in the New Store Design Innovation category. Finally, Phase 1 of our West Campus Student Housing plan received a National Wood Design Award from WoodWorks, recognizing Phase 1 in the Mul-tiple Story Wood Design category. Finally, we are looking forward to welcoming three new ACUHO-I interns this May. Amanda Morales will be joining us from Arkansas State as our Student Services intern; Elizabeth Tutt will join us from Indiana State as our Leadership and Programming intern; and Isabelle Jeffries will join us from Ball State as our Summer School Supervis-ing intern. We look forward to a great and productive summer with our interns.
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Edmonds Community College Edmonds Community College has kicked off its Spring Quarter and welcomed students back to the resi-dence halls. Edmonds CC is currently in the process of hiring an additional Coordinator for Residential Education that will primarily work with the International student population at ECC. As ECC prepares to pilot an Interna-tional Peer Advisors program next academic year, this position will be responsible for supervising the group.
DigiPen Housing LLC Spring has started at DigiPen, and with it brings preparation for a lot of growth next year. DigiPen will be adding a new position, Housing and Student Life Advisor/Resident Director. This new role will support the Residence Life program, and reports to the Director of Housing and Student Life. In addition to the new position, DigiPen is working with local housing complexes to expand the program from their current 33 apartments to over 50 apart-ments in Fall 2013.
Oregon
Western Oregon University We are currently looking to fill an Area Coordinator position for the 2013-14 academic year. Those in-terested in a managing a first year residence hall of 400 students, feel free to look at the position announcement at www.wou.edu/admin/hr and click on the link for STAFF positions. The major facility project taking place this summer is installation of wireless access in all residence halls. Currently, only one of our six residential areas has full wireless access. This $350,000 project will bring all buildings up to a level expected of our students living on campus. It is slated to be completed by September 1, 2013.
Portland State University Portland State University Housing and Residence Life are in the process of hiring one Area Coordinator and one Residence Director of the 2013-2014 academic year. We are excited to announce that the renova-tion project for the Joseph C. Blumel building has been completed. This was a 7 million dollar project that had its 189 units updated, new domestic water re-piping, a new roof, and other mechanical upgrades. This project was completed in 6 months and is opening up in time for residents to move in this spring term. This project was in partnership with Portland State University Facilities Planning Department and with Skanska Construction.
Southern Oregon University With a new residence hall coming on-line in the Fall, we will implement new training on the buildings and community development. Construction of the new North Campus Village is underway and the three buildings will open in Fall of 2013. The two residence halls will house 700 students and the other building will be a new din-ing facility that will seat over 500 students. The halls will have both suite style and semi-suite style residential units. Each building will have common area meeting space, study rooms and other common amenities like wireless access, free laundry, computer work centers and recycling centers. In the dining facility, there will be six made to order display cooking stations serving guests. The dining program will promote an all you care-to-eat, all access pass to the residents. With the location being so close to Athletic facilities it will provide opportunities for stu-dents and community to further connect. Future projects include a new Student Recreation Center located next to the North Campus Village. Plans for this new facility call for design and construction to start in 2013-2014.
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Institutional UpdatesAlaska/Yukon
Yukon College The school year is wrapping up here at Yukon College but these past few months have been packed with amazing events and programs. 2013 marks Yukon College’s 50th Anniversary! The new term was launched with a sizzling winter orientation that provided the residents an opportunity to travel to Takhini Hot Springs to enjoy the hot waters and some amazing northern lights! In February our residents enjoyed volunteering at the various events and festivals that take place in the community. Yukon College is the site to a local music festival called Frostbite and many of our students were able to volunteer their time, learn what it’s like back stage and see free concerts. In addition, the residence department enjoyed sharing our team spirit in the Sourdough Rendezvous Community Challenge. Students and staff participat-ed in a team tournament against other community organizations, fun and hilarity was had by all. Residence also organized a trip downtown to cheer on the mushers starting the Yukon Quest in Whitehorse. It was a great month for building resident’s connection to the greater Yukon community and culture. March was full of inspiring examples of leadership in residence. A group of our residents organized a charity event to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis Canada selling crush cans for a cause. They also started a pop tab collection initiative to support the local Elks Lodge fundraiser “Tabs for Victory”, the goal is raise enough recycling money to buy a child’s hospital bed for the local Whitehorse hospital. Moreover, Residence sent a delegation to the Canadian Conference on Student Leadership held in Kelowna British Columbia. The Resident Assistants that attended returned with wonderful tools and information to build on as we look ahead to planning our fall training and initiatives. We are in full preparation for summer move-ins and the conference season. Residence has had another awesome year and we are looking forward to the summer months to review some of our processes and plan for next school year.
Alaska-Pacific University We have selected our new student staff for next year. We have retained almost half of our RA staff and have welcomed our new ones enthusiastically. On a sad note, Sonja Olson, our Assistant Director of Campus Life is moving on. She is moving back to the Midwest to further continue her career in Student Affairs. We wish her luck and Alaska will miss you. In some exciting news, we are in the planning stages for our inaugural First Year Experi-ence trip to the Yukon River. APU will be taking our first year students on a 2 week trip down the Yukon River for a very unique experience that combines learning out of the classroom and sustainability with interior Alaska as its focal point. Students will enroll in one of four courses offered on the river and read the book, A Land Gone Lone-some, to share in their common experience. With the high cost of food products in Alaska, APU recently took a serious look at how our Dining Opera-tions functions. While we are striving to purchase as many local products as we can, the long winters inhibits a strong fruit and vegetable presence for us. APU is currently working with Tim Meyers, a farmer out in rural Bethel, to bring some of his tundra farming ideas to Anchorage. Meyers has made farming in permafrost not only a real-ity, he is making a name for himself as a pioneer in new farming techniques that could change the landscape of farming in Alaska. If all goes well, APU will offer a Community Supported Agriculture program to students both off and on-campus that will not only provide tasty local grown fruits and vegetables, but also locally caught sea-food as well. Staying with the thought of sustainability, we are also in the midst of switching our campus bookstore over to a virtual bookstore to accommodate the changing needs of our students. With more students renting
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textbooks, utilizing e-books, and purchasing their texts online, it made sense for APU to reduce the financial costs of shipping books from the lower 48. This new endeavor will still allow APU to sell merchandise to our students, but also help pass some savings on to our students with cheaper textbooks. As the days get longer, the snow melts a little faster and we are excited for spring to finally arrive. We are expecting a few moose calves to be born on campus this spring and that always provides entertainment during the waning days of our winter semester.
University of Alaska Anchorage The Department of Residence Life has successfully hired the first ever SafeZone Student Worker. The stu-dent worker is responsible for developing a marketing plan for SafeZone, the SafeZone Celebration Week and supporting the growth of SafeZone. The Department of Residence Life is also finishing up its student staff selection process for Fall 2013. In March the Department of Residence Life staff and other Student Affairs staff attended the first of a series of Green Dot trainings that will help engage the University and Anchorage community in reduc-ing violence. The University Housing, Dining, and Conference Services (UHDCS) Department has around 800 Wi-Fi locks installed in UAA’s 3 residence halls. We are currently working on finishing the software and main door hardware upgrades. They hope to have 100 more Wi-Fi locks installed in May for our Templewood apartments. This project will help both UHDCS and the Department of Residence Life send and receive information to and from the locks.UHDCS is also working on a heating upgrade which will include 2 boiler upgrades one in our main power plant for MAC and isolating MAC 6 so it will be on its own boiler and off the main loop that heats the other 5 apartments. This will help heat all 6 apartments more efficiently. USDCS will is also in the process of upgrading furniture. The Alaska Native and Rural Outreach Program (ANROP) Coordinator with the Department of Residence Life planned Wellness Kuspuk Sewing throughout March.
British Columbia
University of Victoria Robin Copestake joined our team in November in a brand new position: Coordinator, Residence Education. Robin will be spearheading Community Service Learning initiatives, Living-Learning Communities, and connecting Residence Life & Education to the academic community. Lawrence Lam has accepted the Coordinator, Community Development & Student Leadership position with Residence Life & Education. He will coordinate residence judicial affairs, staff training & development, and as-sessment & evaluation. This vacancy in the Residence Life Coordinator position has been filled by Sam Bardal. Sam has been a student staff member at UVic for the past 4 years. After 25+ years with Residence Services, Claire Riddell (Manager, Accommodation & Administration) is retiring. We wish Claire all the best during her well deserved retirement! On March 16, Residence Life & Education will be hosting our very first Project Serve Day! Open to all members of the residence community, Project Serve Day will engage participants in Community Service Learning within the Victoria area. Over the 2013 summer, we will be working on making the basement area of the Lansdowne neighbour-hood accessible. This space will soon be transformed to the Residence Resource HUB which will contain our Pro-gramming Resource Centre, Academic Resource Centre, Health & Wellness Centre, a Multi-Purpose Room and our Residence Underground programming space.
18 Spring 2013
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2013
University of the Fraser Valley No professional staffing changes. Excited as we are gearing up for Summer 2013 & Academic 2013/14 student staff recruitment! Working on a StarCom to StarRez upgrade for a Spring 2013 launch. Big changes to modules and overall service, staff training to start shortly – we are all very excited!
Alberta
SAIT Polytechnic SAIT Residence would like to congratulate Stephanie Woods, who was promoted to General Manager in March 2013. Stephanie has worked at SAIT and Canadian Campus Communities for 5 years in multiple positions. We are excited to have her in the General Manager role. SAIT Polytechnic has required all staff within the Student Services department to complete the course “Mental Health First Aid.” We had our current residence life staff complete the program in August 2012, and it will continue as an annual training component. SAIT Polytehcnic also opened their new Trades & Technology Complex (TTC) in August 2012. The complex consists of 3 buildings and was the largest campus expansion in SAIT’s 100 year history. At a cost of $400 million, the TTC allows more stu-dents to further their passion in the areas of energy, construction, and manufacturing.
University of Alberta New Hires – Laura Huxley, Residence Coordinator for HUB. Trent Nabe, Residence Coordinator – Henday. Major rework of our training to include a wide variety of outcome-based learning. Too many to list! Two new residences opening in September of 2013 – Pinecrest and Tamarack, will house 240 students. Proj-ect has been a lot of fun and been made with a Design-Build process. Chris Fukushima, Area Coordinator, received the RLPA’s Josie Lamothe Memorial Award for outstanding ser-vice to the RLPA and Alberta Post Secondary institutions. Angela Chapel was awarded the New Professional award by the RLPA for her outstanding work at the University of Alberta – Augustana campus. Craig Whitton recently did a presentation for the RLPA regarding targeted violence and active shooters on campus; he was awarded Best in the West by the RLPA and will be presenting at ACUHO-I in Minneapolis.
MacEwan University Recently welcomed Amy Chae as our new Housing and Residence Life Admin Assistant, David Turner as our new Desk Services Agent, and Nicky Renault as our newest Residence Life Coordinator.
20 Spring 2013
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