Region III Newsletter: October 2023

October 2023

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

Fall is upon us. The semester is in full swing at this point and the weather is slowly starting to get cooler. That means that things are underway with the region. Last month we hosted a webinar on sense of belonging and got some best practices from our peers. Great ideas were shared, and ideas spurred for future webinars branching off topics people were discussing. We recently selected our Student Member of the RLT. Krystal Alvarez Figueroa from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg is joining the team, and we look forward to the work that will be accomplished this academic year with Krystal.

We are moving forward with lots of things to finish out 2023. One of the biggest is the regional conference in November where we will be gathered at North Carolina A&T University. I encourage you, your peers, and your students to register for this amazing event. At the conference, we will share ideas with educational sessions, honor award recipients, see partnership opportunities with corporate sponsors, and spend time in fellowship. There is still time to submit awards to recognize your peers for their hard work and a new award for graduate students. Everyone is doing great work, and we want to be able to acknowledge it.

Outside of the regional conference, there are still other ways to connect with the region. One way is with webinars that are being hosted There are 2 more that are planned out for the year and great ways to connect with the region without leaving your campus. We are also going to be doing a call for volunteers in the coming weeks for RLT and CPT members for 2024, be on the lookout for that email to apply to be on one of those great teams. This will include our Student Advisory Board that is starting up. We already have our first member for it and look to get a lot more after the conference. We are looking for the 2024 conference host site, that application is live and the priority deadline is soon. We are going to be busy, and you can be a part of it with us. If you have any questions or want to connect, please reach out to myself or another member of the RLT.

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) Vacant

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)

Associate 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

Krystal Alvarez Figueroa

University of South Florida - St. Petersburg

kalvarezfigueroa@usf.edu

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

ducational 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

TBA(He/Him/His)

TBA

TBA@gsu.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

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!

Register Now

Submit an educational session for the Regional Conference. This year ’ s slogan “Sitting Together to Stand for the Future” will outline work for Region III’s Conference. essions will be selected around the CUI Core Competencies.

Submit Now

avel accommodations are listed on egion III Conference Website The block will close on October 7, 2023, re to reserve your room today.

North Carolina A&T State University Student Center

STEAL THIS IDEA: SENSE OF BELONGING EDITION RECAP

Thank you to those who joined on September 14 for our webinar featuring four institutions in our region who submitted their initiatives for our special edition of Steal This Idea. Here is a quick recap of the projects discussed. Please reach out to sara.cope@vanderbilt.edu with any follow-up questions or requests for more information.

Eastern Carolina University - Military Space

University of Florida - Free Arts & Crafts Programming

STEAL THIS IDEA: SENSE OF BELONGING EDITION RECAP (CONTINUED)

University of Alabama - Birmingham - International Hallway

Vanderbilt University - Student Artwork

CALL FOR AWARD NOMINATIONS

AND SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS

Region III is now accepting applications for Scholarships and Awards.

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!

“Raymond Brooks is the newest executive director of Colvard Student Union, Event Services and Special Projects at Mississippi State University. Brooks previously was associate dean of students. Brooks, who graduated from MSU with bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and physics in 1994 and with a master’s degree in higher education counseling in 1996, served as a student worker and graduate assistant at the Union during the length of his educational career at the university.”*

“Kylie Forrester now serves as director of the Center for Student Activities at Mississippi State University. Forrester moves into her new role after serving as the center’s associate director.”*

Krystal Alvarez Figueroa, a Junior biology major with a concentration in biomedical sciences at USF St. Petersburg campus is the newest member of the ACUI Region III Leadership Team! Her desired career is to become a surgeon. She is originally from Ponce, Puerto Rico and moved to Florida when she was in elementary school.

Darrien Simmons is the new Director of the Student Union at Florida State University. Darrien previously served as Director of the University of Alabama Student Center.

*From the Mississippi State Newsroom

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.

CALL FOR 2024 HOST SITES

ACUI is currently accepting submissions for the 2024 Regional Conference host institutions. This is your chance to showcase your union, staff, city and community at the premier event of Region III. Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted. Apply by October 20 for priority consideration. Click here to see the hosting requirements and application.

Would

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!