August 2023
THE FUN ONLINE
NEWSLETTER JOIN
@acuiregioniii
Pictured: North Carolina A & T State University Student Center
Regional Director
Dr. Stephen McCay (He, Him, His) Associate Director for Operations University of Southern Mississippi
stephen.mccay@usm.edu
Where has the summer gone? It is hard to believe that we are transitioning from the summer to students returning for the fall semester in a couple of weeks. I can tell you Region III has been working hard this summer. Both the Regional Leadership Team and Conference Planning Team have held in-person meetings this summer. During the RLT meeting, many conversations were had about what we wanted to do with the remaining half of the year. A lot came out of those conversations, and I am excited about the new things that are going to be accomplished. This newsletter and future ones will highlight some of those items that members will be able to participate in.
Drive-in: we will be hosting the first drive-in event in years for our region at Florida State University in September.
Virtual learning: there will be a few online events focused on inclusion and how we do that work in various academic and political climates.
Student advisory board: discussions have been had around what a student advisory board could look like for the region and get members for it by the end of the year.
Episodic volunteering: there will be a few opportunities for people to volunteer for some oneoff short volunteering prior to the regional conference.
New award: we added a graduate student of the year award, so be on the lookout for the call for awards to nominate that awesome graduate student.
Less engaged institutions: we are intentionally reaching out to member institutions who are not utilizing all the resources ACUI has to offer and find ways to get them plugged in more.
These are just some of the items the RLT is working on. There is the regional conference in November that the CPT is creating an awesome experience for everyone to enjoy and there is more information in this newsletter about that. As we all prepare for the fall semester and the return of students, I want everyone to think differently about the work we do. Serving students can take a variety of shapes and we must always be thinking of new ways to evolve our role. The RLT is certainly thinking differently with many of the items planned for the remainder of the year. It is my hope that we will see you at the regional conference and see you engage in one of the other areas we have planned. If you have any questions or want to connect, please reach out to me or another member of the RLT.
FROM THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR
YOUR 2023 REGIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAM
Regional Director
Dr. Stephen McCay (He, Him, His)
Associate Director for Operations
University of Southern Mississippi
stephen.mccay@usm.edu
Business Manager
Jeremiah Johnson Director, Hill Student Center
University of Alabama at Birmingham
djj84@uab.edu
Communications Coordinator (RLT)
Boyd Beckwith (He/Him/His)
Assistant Vice President, Student Life
Georgia State University
bbeckwith@gsu.edu
Communications Coordinator (CPT)
Jace Pecina (He/Him/His)
Audio/Visual Coordinator
University of North Carolina - Charlotte
jpesina@uncc.edu
Educational Program Coordinator
Jim Greene (He/Him/His) Director, Plemmons Student Union
Appalachian State University
greenejj2@appstate.edu
Inclusivity Coordinator
Sara Cope (She, Her, Hers)
Assistant Director, Facilities and Operations
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
sara.cope@vanderbilt.edu
YOUR 2023 REGIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAM
Member Experience Coordinator
Sammie Kunz (She, Her, Hers)
Production Technician
East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
kunzs19@ecu.edu
Recognition Coordinator
Darien Garrison (She, Her, Hers)
Assistant Director, Hill Student Center
University of Alabama at Birmingham
dmgarrison@uab.edu
2023 Regional Conference Program Coordinator
Kyle McAlear (He/Him/His)
Assistant Director for Event Services
The University of Tennessee - Knoxville
kmcalear@utk.edu
2024 Regional Conference Program Coordinator
James Contratto (He/Him/His)
Executive Director for Student Life
College of Charleston, Charleston, SC
contrattoj@cofc edu
Student Involvement Coordinator
Desmond Dunklin (He/Him/His)
Coordinator of University Programs
University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
ddunklin@southalabama edu
Student Member
Interviews are in progress - We hope to have a student on board by late-August.
YOUR 2023 REGIONAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM TEAM
2023 Conference Program Coordinator
Kyle McAlear (He/Him/His)
The U. of Tennessee - Knoxville kmcalear@utk.edu
2024 Conference Program Coordinator & Keynotes
James Contratto (He/Him/His)
College of Charleston contrattoj@cofc.edu
Registration & Hospitality
Erin McFee
USF-St. Petersburg emcfee@usf.edu
ucational Sessions
Robert Edmiston USF-St. Petersburg edmistonr@usf.edu
Fundraising & Pre-Conferences
Sammie Kunz
East Carolina University kunz19@ecu.edu
Conference Engagement
Desmond Dunklin (He/Him/His)
University of South Alabama ddunklin@southalabama.edu
Corporate Sponsors
Dean Smith
East Carolina University smithh@ecu.edu
Communications Coordinator
Jace Pecina (He/Him/His)
U. of North Carolina - Charlotte jpesina@uncc.edu
Site Host
Rachel Whitsett
North Carolina A&T University rjohnso@ncat.edu
Central Office Liaison
Victoria Moulterie ACUI
vmoulterie@acui.org
Congratulations!
to our 2023 Region III Scholarship Recipients:
Sam Carter
Student Union Event Coordinator
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
IPDS: New Professionals Seminar
Erin McFee
University Student Center Conference & Events Planner
University of South Florida- St. Petersburg
Women’s Leadership Institute
Zain Chaudhary
USM Union Complex Manager
e Major: Computer Engineering and Mathematics
University of Southern Mississippi
Building Managers Institute
Hayden Blakeman
USM Union Complex Manager
Major: Kinesiology Exercise Science
University of Southern Mississippi
Building Managers Institute
Be on the lookout for future opportunities to nominate students and colleagues for other ACUI Awards and Scholarships!
REGIONAL CONFERENCE UPDATE
NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY
GREENSBORO, NC: NOVEMBER 8-10, 2023
The 2023 CPT would like to invite you to North Carolina A&T State University and Greensboro, North Carolina for this year ’ s regional conference. The planning team is excited to partner with the Student Center staff at A&T to showcase the nation’s largest and #1 public HBCU as Region III is “Sitting Together to Stand for the Future”.
Registration is now open, be sure to take advantage of the Early Bird registration before September 15.
Register Now
Submit an educational session for the Regional Conference. This year ’ s slogan “Sitting ether to Stand for the Future” will outline framework for Region III’s Conference. ation sessions will be selected around the ACUI Core Competencies.
Submit Now
and Travel accommodations are listed on ACUI Region III Conference Website. The hotel block will close on October 7, 2023, o be sure to reserve your room today.
2023 Conference Planning Team
North Carolina A&T State University Student Center
STEAL THIS IDEA!
SENSE OF BELONGING EDITION
How do you create a sense of belonging in your space? Do you have a project, initiative, or element of your Student Center space that intentionally seeks to make your campus community feel welcomed? Region III is collecting examples of these initiatives to assemble a panel of ideas for a webinar, and we would love to feature your work! Submit your work by Friday, September 1 using this link.
Save the date for September 14 at 1 p.m. central/2 p.m. eastern to see the submissions and talk with colleagues about what has worked (and what has been a challenge!) to get these initiatives in place.
Georgia State University Student Center Information Desk
CALL FOR AWARD NOMINATIONS
AND SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS
Region III is now accepting applications for Scholarships and Awards. The deadline to apply is Friday, September 29, 2023
Scholarships
Winners will receive free registration to the Regional Conference at North Carolina A&T University.
(3) Student Scholarships
(2) Scholarships for Education Session presenters
(2) First-time ACUI Conference attendees Click here to apply.
Awards
Smith- Steele Award for Professional Staff
New Professional Award
Outstanding Graduate Student Award* NEW!
Outstanding Volunteer Award
Outstanding Undergraduate Student Leader Award
Student Union/Campus Activities Program of the Year
Inclusivity Initiative/ Program Award
Outstanding Advisor- Mentor Award
Click here for more information on each award. Click here to submit a nomination.
GOOD NEWS! GOOD NEWS!
Ellie Talley joined the University of TennesseeKnoxville Student Union staff at the end of May as our newest Events and Facilities Coordinator.
The 2022-2023 Region III Student Representative, Brooklyn Barnes, recently joined the team at Vanderbilt University as an Events and Facility Coordinator.
Jim Greene begins his new role as Director of the Student Union at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC on July 6, 2023. He was previously the Associate Director, University Student Center at the University of South FloridaSt Petersburg
Dr. Lincoln Walburn received the Western Carolina University Higher Education Student Affairs 2023 Outstanding Alumni Award in April 2023. This is presented to a graduate of the program who have made outstanding contributions to the field of higher education/student affairs since graduating from the program. My service to ACUI played a large part in receiving this award and I'm thankful for all of my colleagues who have welcomed me in and allowed me to join different volunteer groups to continue to serve our Association.
WE WANT YOUR GOOD NEWS!
Get a new position or add a new staff member to your department? Run a 5k or marathon? Complete a degree or certificate? Achieve a personal or professional goal of any type? ACUI Region III wants to know and celebrate you!
Any questions? Please reach out to Darien Garrison, Recognition Coordinator at dmgarrison@uab edu
FloridaState FloridaState University University Sept. 22nd,2023 Sept. 22nd,2023 10amto4pm 10amto4pm StopByandSayHi! Click here for details. A Drive-in Experience for Students and Staff
you like to be featured in our next newsletter?
bbeckwith@gsu.edu
Would
Please contact Communications Coordinator Boyd Beckwith at
with any questions.
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Are you working on anything exciting that you would like to share with the region? Fun project on your campus? Research that you believe will help colleagues? New programming idea? Send it to us!
