Identity Roundtables

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

As part of our efforts to continuously improve the ways we support our membership, we are excited to offer identity-based roundtables that are regularly open on a recurring schedule for the below affinity groups. If you hold one (or more!) of the below identities, we invite you into these spaces to be in community with those who share your identity. Each group meets monthly according to the below schedules. Drop in whenever you feel called to participate, or attend your community’s roundtable on a regular basis—whatever works best for you.

Identity Roundtables

LGBTQIA2S+ Community › Schedule: First Friday of Every Month from 12:00-1:00pm › https://tinyurl.com/MACUHOlgbtq › Contact macuhostac@gmail.com for Meeting ID & Passcode

Mental Health Alliance › Schedule: First Monday of Every Month from 4:00-5:00pm › https://tinyurl.com/MACUHOmha › Contact macuhostac@gmail.com for Meeting ID & Passcode

Professionals Of Color › Schedule: Second Thursday of Every Month from 12:00-1:00pm › https://tinyurl.com/MACUHOPOC › Contact macuhostac@gmail.com for Meeting ID & Passcode

White Accountability Group › Schedule: Second Thursday of Every Month from 12:00-1:00pm › https://tinyurl.com/MACUHOWAG › Contact macuhostac@gmail.com for Meeting ID & Passcode

Women In Student Affairs › Schedule: Second Friday of Every Month from 12:00-1:00pm › https://tinyurl.com/MACUHOWomen › Contact macuhostac@gmail.com for Meeting ID & Passcode

The Role Of A Manager: 5 Actionable Steps To Be A Better Manager

EDUCATION

Matthew Brown He/Him/His Residence Life Coordinator Rutgers University – New Brunswick mdbrown2923@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION

Collectively, we can all agree that managerial and leadership skills are imperative to the success of companies, industries, and businesses. At the same time, there are a vast number of different leadership, managerial, and supervisory styles, tools, and techniques that exist and are utilized. Amazon currently sells over 52,000 books with the word ‘leadership’ in its title. As an MBA candidate who is specializing in leadership and strategy, I find that one of the greatest competencies that is lacking in many industries is the ability to build upon an individual’s leadership and managerial skills.

Historically, leadership positions and managers can be dated back centuries ago to the beginning of human civilization. Yet why is a topic as old as time still causing so much confusion? Through my career and research, I am finding that individuals use management and leadership as synonyms as if they were interchangeable, when in fact they are two independent skill sets. In the article below, I will discuss and highlight the role of a manager and five actionable steps individuals can implement today to be a better manager.

DEFINING THE ROLE OF A MANAGER

Traditional functions associated with being a manager are: planning, budgeting, investigating, organizing, staffing, and controlling operations. Oftentimes, managers are the individuals who are implementing visions and strategic plans within an organization. We need effective managers in all industries. Organizations need individuals who are able to plan and budget, organize and staff, as well as control and solve problems. In short, managers are directly tied to creating order within departments, organizations, and functional areas.

As a manager’s primary task, in simplest form, is to manage people, tasks, and things. Traditionally, managers are strategizing resources, people, and tasks to achieve optimization and efficient outcomes. Below are a few strategies and actionable steps you are able to implement today to be a better manager:

ACTIONABLE STEP #1: CLEAR COMMUNICATION IS IMPERATIVE TO SUCCESS communication is fundamental and essential to organizational success. In a magnitude of situations, managers must serve as the bridge between the top management and the rest of the team. By effectively utilizing strong communication skills, managers can keep employees updated to achieve job efficiency, productivity, and congruence. Research is demonstrating that more employees joining the workforce are expecting an environment where openness, transparency, timeliness, and relevant information flows throughout the workplace. Essentially, communication serves as the groundwork and infrastructure for organizational success.

ACTIONABLE STEP #2: LEVERAGE INDIVIDUAL MOTIVATION

Understanding there are two types of motivation is important to serving as a manager. Extrinsic motivation results from the potential or actual receipt of external rewards such as recognition, money, or a promotion. The other type of motivation is intrinsic motivation. This type of motivation occurs when an individual is influenced by the positive internal emotions that are nurtured by achieving success such as feelings of matter, competence, and value. By understanding individuals’ motivation, managers can better align organizational work to employee’s selfengagement, commitment, responsibility, and creativity. If you are interested in learning more about motivation within the workplace, I encourage you all to dive deeper into the two different categories of theories: Content Theories and Process Theories of Motivation.

ACTIONABLE STEP #3: ADDED VALUE & SETTING EXAMPLE

As no surprise, employee turnover can be a thorn when trying to move an organization forward. In one of my marketing courses, I was introduced to the concept of “added value.” Humans are the greatest asset organizations can have on their side. Henry Ford knew the happier his employees were, the higher they would be performing. Because of this, it is important for managers to think about how they are creating added value within their organization. Whether it is investing in an employee's professional development to build new competencies or focusing on the person’s wellness holistically, these elements can demonstrate a manager’s investment in keeping employees healthy and happy. By leveraging existing policies such as vacation time, sick time, and other forms of compensation, employees can optimize value within the workplace with intentionality and mindfulness. In order to

Carter Cast, a professor of entrepreneurship and leadership at Kellogg business school, stated “great managers roll up their sleeves and work alongside the team when necessary.” For all managers, remember what you model is what is expected. By serving in a managerial role, positionality and influence are two large components of how a team is shaped and formed. By being a role model, investing in your organization, and showing empathy, your team will be more dedicated and committed to producing high-quality deliverables. Per Businesssolvers, 92% of employees said they would be more likely to stay with their job if their bosses would show more empathy. Additionally, a Likeworks study found that 76% of employees who do not feel valued at work are seeking other job opportunities.

ACTIONABLE STEP #4: DECISION-MAKING: EFFECTIVE AND CRITICAL PROBLEM SOLVERS

In every industry, it is unavoidable that there will be mistakes, problems, and crises that need to be addressed by managers. Essentially, problem-solving is one of the primary roles of management. Management guarantees a plan to accomplish success by controlling operations and solving problems when they arise. When reflecting on managerial processes, it is important to remember it is not supposed to be exciting or glamorous. In all actuality, by having effective managerial protocols, fail-safes, and procedures, there is a higher rate of success to achieve established outcomes for all stakeholders. Time is extremely valuable in times of crisis. Being able to inspire a team towards a solution by eliminating anger, confusion, and misalignment cannot be taken for granted. Being so, good managers motivate people in a magnitude of ways. First and foremost, communicate a strategic plan that demonstrates urgency but also prioritizes values of the consumers. Secondly, while implementing a plan, it is fundamental to support employee efforts, realizing the tax and burden placed on them. By providing coaching, feedback, recognition, and appreciation, it aids in managing team dynamics as well as group problem solving. Lastly, reward your team. By rewarding your team, you provide a sense of accomplishment and triumph when faced with challenges, barriers, and difficulties. This fosters a sense of value, belonging, and care within your organization during this final step of motivating employees.

ACTIONABLE STEP #5: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

What is performance management and why is it important to managers? In short, it is the process of creating a professional environment where people are evaluated, developed, and challenged to perform at the best of their abilities. Fundamentally, performance management is essential in the welfare of an organization, distribution of human capital and resources, and the development employees. In business school, we learned the importance of on-going feedback. It seems intuitive when thinking about the cyclical performance management cycle. During the process, we can break it down into three different review phases: performance planning, mid-year performance review, and annual performance review. During the performance planning stage, start the year off with focusing on performance excellence, identifying key responsibilities and functionality, providing guidance on implementation, and highlighting opportunities to build competencies to ensure growth. This first phase is important as it serves as the groundwork and foundation to one’s success.

The second phase is just as important and oftentimes overlooked within management cycles. During the middle of the year, managers should begin sharing relevant and actionable feedback to their employees. Collectively, managers and employees should reach a mutually understood agreement on expectations, trends, and performance thus far. Managers have an opportunity to give feedback to the employee, receive feedback about the organization and themselves, and perhaps most importantly, have a dialogue.

At the end of the year, managers are able to meet with appraisers to discuss areas of strong performance, areas needing improvement and focus, and provide input for their own performance discussion. Each performance review allows managers to provide employee with improvements, inspire and motivate the employee, and lastly improve and build the relationship between the two parties.

CONCLUSION:

Organizational behavior, management, and leadership are all necessary staples of a successful business or industry. As managers, we are uniquely positioned to develop leaders, recognize achievements, and influence organizations. By leveraging the above actionable steps, research has shown that such strategies help in creating an environment where people feel valued by leadership, striving to produce high-quality deliverables and rising to challenges.

Ultimately, there is nothing magical about this process. Managers who go out of their way to provide opportunities for their employees to grow will create leaders. Research has shown that money is not the problem for why individuals leave their jobs. In fact, only 12% of employees actually leave their position because they want more money per careerbuilder.com. As stated prior, by having clearer communication, leveraging one’s motivation, providing added value in the workplace, being an effective decision maker, and utilizing performance management effectively, managers have the ability to create and sustain a workplace where leaders are born.

Creative spaces for your campus

Inconvenient Change

EDUCATION

Amanda Slichter She/Her/Hers Assistant Director of Residence Life Kutztown University Director of Technology Initiatives amandaslichter11@gmail.com

Trigger Warnings: Racism, White Supremacy, Allosexism, Sexism, Ableism

It is 2022 and what we are doing to improve equity, access, and safety for our most marginalized students, staff, colleagues, and community members is still not working. It is not enough. Our work is not invasive enough, it is not relentless enough, and it is not loud enough.

Our best identity-based work comes with difficulty on intrapersonal, interpersonal, or systemic levels. It is more than your Pride Parade and your all-gender housing. It goes beyond your keyboard advocacy on social media, and it digs deeper than your periodic Black Lives Matter mass email. Inclusive words and programs are positive things, but they are also easy. Moreover, they are not enough on their own. They rarely challenge or change people or policies, and they rarely persist past a fleeting moment.

Our best work is incredibly inconvenient. It borrows our time and sacrifices our social clout. Our best work trades polite silence for strategic advocacy, and trades an otherwise relaxing hour for painful introspection into owning the white supremacy or allosexism that lives within us. Our best work is the most inconvenient, but it is also by far the most impactful.

As a cisgender white person with a litany of other privileges, I write this knowing it all applies to me as well. When I do not prioritize anti-oppression work, that is the first way in which I fail to chase equity. There are plenty of other ways in which my efforts fail— maybe from a lack of knowledge, resources, or poor strategy. But following through on a consistent commitment and not letting anti-oppression work slide to the wayside? That’s a clear step I can take in the right direction.

Let’s recommit and examine how we can push forward, even when it is inconvenient.

INTERNAL

- Are you at peace with your own identities? Do you know who you are? - Can you articulate your own privileges and the specific ways each of those privileges give you power in your various social spheres? - Are you aware of your own biases? Tip: Check out the free online Harvard Implicit Bias tests. - What identities (different from your own) do you struggle to understand, or just know very little about? - How much time per day, per week, per month do you take for identity-based learning? Tip:

Intentionally schedule 30 minutes on your calendar per week to read/learn about an identity other than your own. - Do a visual scan of the books, artwork, television, and other media you consume and surround yourself with. Whose voices and faces are represented? What podcasts, books, shows, etc. can be added to hear new perspectives from less-represented identities?

INTERPERSONAL

- How do you respond when corrected about someone’s identity, culture, or pronouns? Tip: Listen, offer a brief apology and a “thank you” for the correction, educate yourself, move on and do better. - Have you worked to remove harmful language from your vocabulary, including words and phrases such as “crazy,” “you guys,” “handicapped,” and binary expressions such as “ladies and gentlemen”? - What resources/media do you have to stay current on constantly changing language and how often do you revisit those resources? Tip: Some starting resources are available at https:// sites.google.com/view/antiopp - Are you interrupting racism/sexism/ableism/etc. consistently, or do you avoid leveraging your privilege based on your level of comfort with the person or place? Tip: Examine the difference between social comfort and physical safety. Notice if there is a pattern in your willingness to interrupt

SYSTEMIC/INSTITUTIONAL

- Do you notice (and call attention to) physical facilities when they are not accessible or when they are unnecessarily gendered? Tip: Request all-gender restrooms, larger chairs, or more inclusive signage. You may not personally need it, but it could pave the way for someone else. - Do you notice (and call attention to) surveys, forms, and applications that ask for demographic information such as race, sex, or gender in limiting or binary ways? - As an individual and a professional, are you being mindful of what organizations and vendors you are funding? Can your personal income or your departmental budget be reallocated toward more inclusive or representative businesses and speakers? - If you have the privilege, do you make informed voting choices and a plan to vote in elections at all levels? - When is the last time you wrote or called your representative regarding policy that would directly impact one or more marginalized identities? Tip: Be sure you are listening to the activists directly from those most affected communities to understand how your voice would be most helpful.

This list is not exhaustive, and it is still not enough. Until we are all committed to inconvenient changes on all three of these levels, in all aspects of our lives, injustice will still be the standard. Highlighting inequity can be polarizing, uncomfortable, and awkward. But we owe it to our students, colleagues, and community members to choose minor inconvenience over oppressive complicity.

Reflections On Faculty In Residence Programs - Before And Through A Pandemic

REFLECTIONS

Lauren Murphy She/Her/Hers Assistant Director, Residential Education The George Washington University lcmurphy@email.gwu.edu

Prior to COVID, literature consistently underlined the benefits of faculty engagement outside of the classroom. Students who regularly interact with faculty reported feeling supported academically and socially, and more often engaged with other high impact learning opportunities (Brower & Inkelas, 2010). Faculty in Residence programs are a strategy that allow faculty to move beyond the formalities of their classroom, and connect with students as fellow community members. By engaging students in residential settings, faculty are able to create moments that cultivate learning, personal development, and critical thinking (Dahl, Duran, Hooten, Stipek, Youngerman, & Mayhew, 2020). By positioning faculty within residence halls, there is greater potential to impact a student’s sense of belonging and satisfaction, which resonates beyond their college experience.

How often have we experienced the first hand story of a student who struggled to speak with a professor about a challenge in class or personal issue, worried about how the faculty will respond or that the faculty member will not understand? I have countless experiences working with students in these moments to help them write an initial email to their professors. Considering the common structures found within classrooms, many students join our institutions accustomed to hierarchy, power structures, and divisions between faculty and students. Faculty are often placed as authority figures, and natural barriers are created towards students based on the role faculty hold in leading a classroom, and the experience and knowledge they possess through their level of education. Faculty authority has the potential to hinder participation and learning, and creates barriers to students in gaining needed support towards their persistence (Weaver & Qi, 2005). Perceived barriers students have to faculty are most felt for low-income, first generation, and underrepresented students, who can best be served by these connections. The value in Faculty in Residence programs is actualized through the organic connections that are formed and how faculty bridge these barriers.

PRE-COVID BEST PRACTICES

Achieving the desired outcomes of Faculty in Residence programs have traditionally relied on the unique experiences faculty can provide within a residential setting, particularly through programming and individual mentoring connections. Regular engagement, both intellectually driven and social, provide students consistent opportunities to form meaningful relationships. Engaging not only outside of the classroom, but also in the halls and a faculty’s physical residence, gives students the opportunity to see them in their lives, which ultimately humanizes them. One of my favorite things to see as a professional is when a student lights up when they realize they have something in common and a connection with a faculty member. Providing more direct engagement, particularly in the first year, allows for students to cultivate and understand the mentorship and investment these community members play in their experience.

Maintaining proper ratios between faculty and students remains an important foundation for outcome achievement. Within classroom settings, research has shown that students do better in class sizes that allow for direct engagement with instructors (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2016). Similarly, lower ratios between Faculty in Residence and students allow more individual and organic connections to occur. Programs at New York University and the University of Miami have focused on lowering ratios, particularly in areas that serve first year students. However, similar to the debate about the impact of classroom ratios on persistence, lower ratios in a residential setting are only as successful as the intentionality and investment faculty provide through these programs.

Programmatic success can be measured in a variety of ways, including student learning, knowledge of available resources, and satisfaction. At my institution, we identified this as an area of needed development. Over the last couple of years, we have centered on establishing our goals and structure, with the hope to utilize these to drive our metrics and formalize our assessment measures. Success has stemmed from establishing practices to collect data to understand the type and regularity of programming from our faculty, guiding faculty

toward designated expectations of their role, and to establish norms students have come to expect and recognize. Moving forward, rather than concentrating on structure, it is necessary to focus on measuring the program’s impact and achievement of learning outcomes to allow for greater programmatic improvement (Love & Estanek, 2004).

For many programs, student satisfaction surveys are a common method, and often utilize questions to gauge students' awareness and engagement with their faculty. Programs at NYU, Miami, and UCLA have found success in assessing student learning in the residence halls, rather than focusing solely on the faculty performance, and utilize more formal tools to gather this data. The Study of Integrated Living Learning Programs (SILLP) provides insight into how students in residential environments perceive their living experiences in addition to achieving academic, social, and intellectual outcomes. Additionally the Assessment of Collegiate Residential Environments and Outcomes (ACREO) and ACUHOI Benchworks Resident Assessment survey utilizes questions connected to residential learning. Faculty programs are strongly tied to learning and intellectual development, and focusing on these metrics allow connections towards the larger educational goals in our communities. Such metrics should be prioritized when constructing assessments on your campus.

Beyond established assessment tools, informal indicators of these programs should not be ignored. Presence of students in seeking these opportunities, their personal testimonies amid conversations, and other artifacts that organically show student connections are important to note when considering the impact of a program. For myself, the students I work with do not always realize that I support and have a passion for these programs; I notice when and how my students talk about the moments they have engaged with our residential faculty. I find artifacts in a variety of places: moments when students are able to nominate faculty members for recognition awards, in comments on our social media posts featuring the program, and in which faculty students choose to highlight in senior speaker applications. Beyond noticing these moments, I share them with my faculty and with those who lead our residential education efforts. The personal quality of these moments resonate with both residential staff and the faculty themselves, and are a needed and powerful tool towards program success. Artifacts provide greater context to metrics in helping to show success and provide arguments for greater investment for your outside of the classroom experience.

2020-2021 FACULTY IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM

Like many campuses who made the decision to go partial or wholly virtual in August, when looking towards this fall semester, we had to quickly decide how to recreate the same benefits of inperson interaction, virtually. Having a campus of 6,500 residents condense to 500 for the fall, our eleven faculty members, who typically served twenty-six buildings, were asked to serve three buildings together. Each day of the week, a different faculty member conducted a virtual program. Mentorship relationships was something our faculty wanted to attempt to cultivate beyond organized programs. In weeks when an individual faculty member was not conducting a program, they were asked to engage with a smaller portfolio of assigned students. The primary goal was to have a variety of ways students could engage with a faculty member, as the virtual environment meant our faculty were not bound to a single location.

In practice, the challenges our faculty have faced have been consistent to those faced by our residential life professionals. Programs trend towards lower attendance. When faculty have attempted to engage with students individually, they have received a lack of response. Some of our faculty brought in bigger guest speakers from their own networks, and although some experienced more engagement, the engagement was still smaller than desired. Even prior to COVID, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) showed that students taking courses online had fewer faculty interactions than those on campus. Considering this beyond a classroom setting, when students are already experiencing “Zoom fatigue”, it is not surprising that they are not seeking to engage with faculty virtually. Previously, when faculty struggled to engage and build relationships, the strongest advice to provide was that they needed to meet their students where they were at - popping into lounges, being at campus eateries, attending community events, etc. If virtual engagement has made anything clear is that, despite our reliance on technology as a society, it is still hard to recreate the organic and natural elements of inperson connection.

Like our residential staff, these challenges impact faculty’s own feelings of engagement and motivation. Many Faculty in Residence serve in their roles because of their interest and enjoyment in connecting with students; not having those opportunities is isolating and draining. Zoom fatigue is not only something our students manage; faculty are spending significant time at their screens conducting research, teaching, facilitating meetings, and engaging in their personal lives. Just like it is not surprising that our students are not eager to connect virtually, it is not surprising that these engagements are not energizing for faculty. These factors have the potential to yield lower motivation in continuing to find effective engagement strategies, and ultimately dissatisfaction with the role. Combined with a professional staff who are experiencing similar challenges and frustrations, the potential for self-perpetuating negative “groupthink” increases.

Regular meetings with our faculty was a practice we have maintained throughout the academic

year, and these have become even more important through the virtual learning period. Previously these monthly meetings were primarily a touchpoint to ensure faculty and staff were working on a united front in the residential communities. With low student engagement this semester, faculty have expressed an appreciation for these meetings, if for anything to connect with each other and to know they are not the only ones struggling. Beyond serving as a processing space, these regular meetings have allowed the group to brainstorm and share resources. For many of our faculty, having these meetings virtually has actually made it easier for them to attend amid their packed schedules. Just like peer relationships are essential for students and staff, it is important for faculty to have opportunities to connect together on commonality of their experiences.

As we have progressed through the year, having timely data has been essential to fall back upon to continue to adapt, as prior best practices were based in a non-pandemic/non virtual environment. Engaging our faculty as thought partners with this data allows them to help brainstorm and strategize. For data to be most effective, data needs to be shared and “fed” back into the system (Love & Estanek, 2004). By engaging faculty in the interpretation of this data, we were able to have well rounded discussions and set direction together. Outcomes regarding persistence and learning need to move beyond boundaries between individual divisions and be jointly assessed. With extensive backgrounds in research and inquiry, faculty are accustomed to pursuing undiscovered answers to problems and provide unique perspectives that are not always available in spaces dominated by Student Affairs professionals. I continue to value the meaning my faculty derive from data sets being collected and circulated amid the division. Most recently, one of our faculty members reached out to discuss the latest findings from our campus check-in survey that gauged students' overall sense of well-being, involvement, and academic engagement. They were able to key into details I had overlooked, and triangulate the data to help them determine approaches they will attempt in their classrooms and their residential role. As our campus moves towards having an increased campus population, assessment will only continue to help us find our footing and look towards long-term continued development.

Together with assessment, it is important to continue to shift what success looks like at this moment. Formerly our faculty found success through completing the designed elements of their role and were able to observe this consistently through the physical attendance of their weekly programs and their individual relationships with students. Prior to COVID, it was not uncommon for some of my faculty to have several students meet with them during the week to discuss academic difficulties or guidance for job applications. Success now is maintaining opportunities for students to engage with them, even if they are not choosing to do so in high volumes, as well as continuing to work as a team to find new strategies. Messages of what this new form of success looks like must be continuously reinforced so faculty do not fall back into comparison to what success once looked like. Acknowledging and affirming victories, however small, help the recalibration of expectations and perceptions of success. I have had several conversations with faculty who are concerned when only one student attends their program, and work to key them into the benefits and value that moment provides for that individual student and the impact that can create. It’s about meaningful connection, even if it is on an individual level.

Utilizing social media as a stronger outlet to build awareness and engage students has been essential. Creating regularly scheduled content, particularly at the start of the semesters, as well as finding opportunities to “go live” brings faculty into a space our students are well accustomed with. Where comfortable, a few faculty have even begun using their own social media presence to go to where students are. Unanticipated, my student worker has become a huge resource to the support of this program. They have provided perspective regarding what students find most interesting to see on social media and for programs, and are currently heading up a project that will help our students learn more about individual faculty members on Instagram. Students are whom we are all working so diligently to serve, but many of them are still learning how they want to connect amid social distancing. Allowing students to continue to drive their experience and help find strategies that work continues to be important. Just like faculty members are natural partners to review data to set new directions, professionals should find opportunities to engage students in data review to gain a wider perspective on new methods.

LOOKING FORWARD

As we plan for our campus to return with a higher residential population, the ultimate hope continues to be to return to in person engagement. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that there are no substitutes to the connection that these opportunities provide and we need to be moving to in person engagement when it is safe. While the virtual world is still the primary setting for my team to engage with the community, we have been able to begin conducting small group programs of no more than ten participants, which have consistently been sought after when arranged. Recently a faculty member took a group out for a hike to a nearby national park and noted surprise that particularly the first year students had not explored the city much outside of the campus bubble. During their walk, they were able to advise the students through some of the difficulties they were having with virtual learning. While smaller programs do not have as far of a reach, they are still impactful to our students. Even as we return to “normal”, it will continue to be important for us to not only consider long established practices, but also be

willing to assess and develop new approaches as we re-engage students to our campuses. Our students will have new unique challenges as they return to our communities, and residential faculty will continue to be an important source to students’ transition, holistic development, and persistence.

REFERENCES:

Brower, A. M., & Inkelas, K. K. (2010). Livinglearning programs: One Highimpact Educational Practice We Now Know a Lot About. Liberal Education, 96(2), 36–43.

Dahl, L. S. , Duran, A. , Hooten, Z. J. , Stipek, C. J. , Youngerman, E. , Mayhew, M. J. (2020). Investigating the Influence of Residential Learning Communities on Student Experiences. Learning Communities Research and Practice, 8(1), Article 6.

Gallup. (2014, May 6). The 2014 Gallup-Purdue Index Report. Gallup.com. Available at http:// w w w. g a l l u p . c o m / s t r a g i c c o n s u l t i n g / 1 6 8 7 9 1 / gallup-purdue-index-inaugural-national-report.aspx Inkelas, K. K., Soldner, M., Longerbeam, S. D., & Leonard, J. B. (2008). Differences in student outcomes by types of living–learning programs: The development of an empirical typology. Research in Higher Education, 49(6), 495-512.

Love, Patrick G., and Sandra M. Estanek. Rethinking Student Affairs Practice. Jossey-Bass, 2004.

National Survey of Student Engagement. A fresh look at student engagement, 2013 Annual Report. Bloomington: University of Indiana. Available from: h t t p : / / n s s e . i u b . e d u / N S S E _ R e s u l t s / p d f / NSSE_Annual_Results.pdf

Pascarella, Ernest T., and Patrick T. Terenzini. How College Affects Students. Jossey-Bass., 2016. pg. 44-45.

Weaver, Robert R., and Jiang Qi. “Classroom Organization and Participation: College Students' Perceptions.” The Journal of Higher Education, vol. 76, no. 5, 2005, pp. 570–601. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/ stable/3838840. Accessed 15 Dec. 2020

My Internship Experience At The George Washington University

REFLECTIONS

Brent Shafer Residence Director Colorado State University

As most residence life graduate students do, last spring I spent countless hours searching the ACUHO-I portal for different internship opportunities. I knew I was interested in a residence life position that would allow me the opportunity to gain new skills that I have yet to have experience in. Additionally, it was important for me to find an internship and an internship supervisor that would allow me the autonomy to craft some of my own experiences such as gaining an understanding of housing orientation, staff selection, and various other interest areas.

Having applied to The George Washington University (GW) for graduate school, I was slightly familiar with the program, the institutional structure, and the size. During the internship search process, I was seeking an experience and an institution that was very different from my larger public flagship institution, The University of Kansas. During the interview, my future supervisor, Lauren Murphy, and one of the full-time professional staff members at GW, immediately made me feel comfortable and was eager to learn about my various experiences as an aspiring student affairs professional. After the interview, I knew there was indeed one school at the top of my list and that for me was GW. When offered the position, I accepted!

After arriving in DC, I spent a good part of my first week learning about the institution, on-boarding, meeting different campus partners, and getting acquainted with the city. Additionally, I spent a significant amount of time with my supervisor that week discussing the needs of the department and my goals for the summer. Lauren wanted to ensure that I was able to get any experiences I needed and was adamant about helping me develop connections across the city and on campus.

My summer projects included hiring for our newly developed student staff positions, as GW recently retired the “traditional” Resident Assistant model. I encourage you to read more about this change, as it is truly so fascinating and one of the major reasons I wanted to intern at GW. I was excited to learn how an institution like GW was transitioning away from the traditional model of using resident assistants as the link between informational knowledge and support and changing their model to reflect more full-time professional staff positions and various newly designed student hourly positions.

One of the major projects I undertook included hiring and interviewing for our student positions which consisted of Communication Assistants, Operations Assistants, Programming Assistants, Special Project Assistants, Peer Mediation Assistants, and more. Additionally, I was able to design and run the application process for our newly designed Transition Assistant position. This position was designed to help during major movein periods and was a pivotal customer service piece for the department of Campus Living and Residential Education (CLRE). Overall, in this process, I was able to learn different interviewing skills, more about the institution, marketing and advertising techniques, and I was able to connect with students who were not yet on campus due to COVID-19.

My typical work week consisted of meetings, projects, and connections with other student affairs professionals. During my weekly one-onones with my supervisor, we discussed articles surrounding the field of higher education and how they apply to both my role at GW and back at my home institution. These readings and conversations both challenged me and grew me as a housing professional. My supervisor also helped coordinate meetings with each of the Community Coordinators and Assistant Directors, where I was able to ask job-specific questions and learn more about the role they play at GW. I also had meetings with the two Assistant Deans of Students for CLRE, the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, and other high-level individuals at GW. Through the connections I made at GW, I was also able to connect with the Executive Director of ACPA which is based in Washington D.C. During this meeting, I learned more about the role of professional associations and how I plan to become involved as a graduate student and full-time residence life professional.

In my position as an ACUHO-I intern, I was able to sit in on meetings at the Assistant Director level and higher. These meetings provided me with an opportunity to understand decision-making at midlevel and higher within a typical residence life department. These meetings were not even attended by full-time staff, so I looked at this as an opportunity to gain invaluable insight during my time at GW. With the new staffing structure in place, I was able to witness the onboarding of fulltime staff and engage in discussions around the new student staff positions that aided in my professional understanding of GW’s new model.

Another project that I was fortunate to help design was the roommate agreement documents that CLRE would utilize during the fall semester. This project allowed me the ability to apply the knowledge I learned in other positions and creatively design and cater a roommate agreement template to the students at GW. I also worked on a summer-long benchmarking project that consisted of me reaching out to interview different market-basket schools (which were similar to GW’s size and structure) to understand how different residence life departments established relationships—while maintaining accountability—between campus partners and their Living-Learning Communities. This allowed me to develop strong professional connections with institutions around the United States—something I was not anticipating when I had applied for the internship. At the end of this project, I was able to provide suggestions for our newly developed LivingLearning Community on how the CLRE department could successfully partner with our academic partners moving forward. These were just a few of the projects I undertook during my time with CLRE, yet some of the most impactful to my professional development.

My experience both at GW and within the CLRE department was very formative in my higher education journey. I grew not only as a professional, but grew so much as a person with the relationships I developed, the professional connections I made, and the unique culture of DC. I am very thankful to the leadership within the CLRE department and to my supervisor, Lauren Murphy, for providing me with so many opportunities to learn and develop.

Program & Recognition Awards 2021

MACUHO TOP TEN PROGRAM AWARDS

The Region’s Best Award 2020:

Inclusive Language Amanda Slichter (Region’s Best)

Allyship In Action Jondad Fequiere (Best Presentation By A New Professional

A Conversation On Burnout In Residence Life & Housing Mark Bauman & Denise Davidson

(Re)discovering Your Purpose Denise Davidson, Mark Bauman & Jahmir Wilson

MIND Your Health Bernadine Griffin

Navigation Room Selection During COVID & Beyond Ashley Hubler

Uncharted Waters: Entering The Mid-Level Lauren Murphy, Amanda Barboza Barela & Nailah Brown

Why Your Residential Curriculum Is A Lie... Colin Seifrit & Kiernan Duffy

Assessment: It’s Not That Deep... Amanda Slichter

Starting a New Role? Recently Promoted? Job Searching? Learn Strategies To Successfully Lead In A New Role Kurtis Watkins

2021 MACUHO ANNUAL RECOGNITION AWARD WINNERS Ann Webster New Professional Award: James MacGregor, Penn State University

The Ann Webster New Professional Award is presented in recognition of significant institutional and/or regional contributions to our field over the past year by an individual who has worked in housing and residence life for fewer than 4 years. Requirements: Maximum of 4 years full-time experience in housing and/or residence life.

Mid-Level Professional Award: Missi Moon, Kutztown University

The Mid-Level Professional Award is presented in recognition of significant institutional and/or regional contributions to our field over the past year by an individual who has worked in housing and residence life for a minimum of 4 years and currently serves in the position of Associate/Assistant Director, Area Director, Coordinator, Manager, or equivalent. Requirements: Minimum of 4 years full-time experience in housing and/or residence life; currently in a mid-level equivalent position. No maximum years of experience.

Commitment to Social Justice Award: Ruqayyah ‘Haii’ Johnson, Rutgers University - New Brunswick (Professional Staff) Briaunna Embrey-Banks, York College of Pennsylvania (Student)

The Commitment to Social Justice Award is presented in recognition of outstanding work in fostering diversity and social justice education, competency, and/or action among students, staff, and/or faculty at their institution or in the region. There are two levels of recognition within this annual award: Professional Staff and Student Staff.

James Hurd Outstanding Service Award: Julia Collett, George Washington University

The James Hurd Outstanding Service Award is presented in recognition of outstanding contributions to MACUHO by an executive board or leadership council member over the past year (since the last Annual Conference). Requirements: Served as Executive officer or Leadership Council member during the past year.

David G. Butler Distinguished Service Award: Debbie Scheibler, Rowan University

The David G. Butler Distinguished Service Award is MACUHO's highest honor. This award is presented in recognition of contributions to MACUHO which are lasting and significant over a period of years. The recipient should be a consistent participant in and supporter of MACUHO activities.

Joanne Goldwater Distinguished Senior Level Professional Award Sean Killion, Temple University

The Joanne Goldwater Distinguished Senior Level Professional Award is presented in recognition of significant institutional accomplishments and/or contributions to the region/the housing and residence life field over the past year by a seasoned or senior housing/ residence life officer. Requirements: Minimum of 8 years full-time experience in housing and/or residence life; or currently a senior level housing/residence life officer or equivalent.

H e l l o M A C U H O ,

The MACUHO Magazine Team has a vision of helping our members share their experiences and become published professionals in our field. We encourage you to consider joining the magazine team and/or writing a submission for the magazine today!

If you are interested, check out our page on the MACUHO website to learn more about what to submit to the magazine - https:// www.macuho.org/ We will take submissions at any time throughout the year. We are also happy to look at any rough drafts if you need some guidance.