WINTER QUARTER 2017
DEANS’ UPDATE
Images from MLK Day and Black History Month events
TABLE OF CONTENTS 02 | Message from Student Affairs Vice President Patricia Telles-Irvin 04 | Black House Feasibility Study
STUDENT AFFAIRS
07 | SES introduces the One Form 08 | Welcome Dr. Robert Palinkas, New Executive Director of Health Service
Division of
STUDENTAFFAIRS Deans’ Update WINTER QUARTER 2017 Dear Colleagues, Believe it or not, we are now closer to Commencement than Wildcat Welcome. While our Northwestern community has faced truly tough times this year, I remain optimistic and Student Affairs will continue to work with all of you to enhance the Northwestern experience. While the office of Student Enrichment Services (SES) is only two years old, its positive impact on numerous students has been wonderful to witness. SES continues to connect first generation and low-income students to resources that reduce financial obstacles to a wellrounded college experience. The launch of SES One Form improves the process for students applying for these opportunities by using one standard form for students applying for multiple funding opportunities.
Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia Telles-Irvin
In the past year, the Black House Feasibility Study has progressed under the Steering Committee’s Student Affairs leadership. The information collection and feedback process has demonstrated collaboration across the university community to form a robust vision for the Black House that honors its history and looks towards the future. Finally, I am pleased to welcome our new Executive Director of Northwestern University Health Service, Dr. Bob Palinkas. Dr. Palinkas joined Northwestern in January and brings a real passion to campus health service. As the year continues, I look forward to our continued collaboration in educating our students and engaging the community.
Warm regards,
Patricia Telles-Irvin
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Vision WE WILL BE FULL PARTNERS IN THE STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCE. The Division of Student Affairs partners with the academic schools/colleges and other University Divisions in allegiance with the University’s vision and mission to advance student learning and success.
Mission THE MISSION OF THE NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS IS TO EDUCATE STUDENTS, ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY, AND ENRICH THE NORTHWESTERN EXPERIENCE. We pursue our mission through providing learning programs, services, and mentoring to maximize students’ potential, removing barriers to learning, strengthening readiness to learn, and sustaining a safe and healthy Northwestern community.
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BLACK HOUSE FEASIBILITY STUDY The Black House is a landmark at 1914 Sheridan Road, serving as a Black student union and symbol of Black students’ resilience and activism at Northwestern.
The composition of the Steering Committee reflects knowledge and experience from members of the Black House Facility Review and the Black Student Experience Task Force, as well as collaboration across the Northwestern community – from undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
The Black House Feasibility Study seeks to assess the conditions needed for architectural improvements to the Black House through an inclusive process that honors the Black House legacy and community needs. In September 2016, Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Patricia Telles-Irvin formed the Study’s Steering Committee, co-chaired by Executive Director of Campus Inclusion and Community, Dr. Lesley-Ann Brown-Henderson, and Associate Vice President and Chief of Staff for Student Affairs, Dr. Julie Payne-Kirchmeier.
“I think we’re getting a really robust perspective, and this perspective is getting confirmed through multiple feedback loops,” Dr. Payne-Kirchmeier said. “As Moody Nolan, the architect firm, presented to the Steering Committee their preliminary findings from the charrettes, even those who weren’t able to participate in a charrette said ‘yes, this speaks to me,’ and that was a student and an alumnus,” Dr. Brown-Henderson said. “The process has been transparent, representative – and one that I’m really proud to be a part of.”
The community engagement process, drawing on reports, listening sessions, and intentional outreach with faculty, staff, students, and alumni, highlighted factors that later formed the foundation of the charrette process, explained Dr. Payne-Kirchmeier.
The charrette, which included four meetings with six breakout sessions, served as the second part of the engagement process. With feedback from across the Northwestern community, the architects began to create a program. The program, Dr. Brown-Henderson explained, envisions what the Black House might look like, “not in terms of square footage or walls, but in terms of the flow and zones of the building.”
A charrette is a visual brainstorming architectural design exercise with stakeholders, which presented options to faculty, staff, and students in four sessions. The committee shared questions and information with other stakeholders in between engagement sessions. Creating space for both relaxation and focus, including creative and multipurpose spaces, proved important in the process.
After the upcoming presentation of the report to Dr. Telles-Irvin, and upon receiving approval from the senior administration at Northwestern, the schematic design, design development, and construction document processes will follow.
The redesign “needed to reflect the history of the Black experience at Northwestern throughout the building, preserve the house itself, and make sure it still felt like a home,” Dr. Payne-Kirchmeier said.
For more information: Julie Payne-Kirchmeier jp-kirchmeier@northwestern.edu
Dr. Brown-Henderson emphasized the importance of creating and sustaining the concept of “home.” One of the architects often brings up a resonant student comment: “The Black House is a place where I can be my authentic self.”
Lesley-Ann Brown labrown@northwestern.edu
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05.2016 06.2016 — JUNE
MAY 2016 Requested Black House improvements s by Black House Facility Review Committee e (Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni) Completed
07.2016 — JULY
AUGUST 2016
Solicited and heard Proposals from architects with the Black House Architecture Selection Committee (Students and Staff) Completed
08.2016 09.2016 — SEPTEMBER R
OCTOBER 2016
10.2016
Formed and charged Executive and Steering Committees (Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni) Completed
NOVEMBER 2016
11.2016
Meet with stakeholder groups of Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni Completed
DECEMBER 2016
12.2016
Communicate back-and-forth with architects; Steering Committee members; and Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni
NEXT STEPS
Facility assessment by architects Both Completed
• Approval of concept design • Schematic design • Design development • Construction • Document process
JANUARY 2017
01.2017
Communicate back-and-forth with architects, Steering Committee members; and Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni Completed
FEBRUARY 2017
02.2017
Charrette process with Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni
Present recommendations of the Feasibility Study to Steering Committee Both Completed
MARCH 2017
Present recommendations and concept design to University Leadership and Steering Committee
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03.2017
ONE FORM ONE STORY ONE TIME My name is John and I’m a sophomore.. . .
My financial circumstance is. . .
I need funding so that I can.. . .
Fill out only ONE FORM to apply for funding for a variety of opportunities. Interfraternity Council Scholarship NU Dance Marathon Alternative Student Breaks Chicago Field Studies + much more
CAMPUS INCLUSION & COMMUNITY
STUDENT ENRICHMENT SERVICES
Introducing the
SES One Form bit.ly/SESOneForm
SES INTRODUCES THE ONE FORM The new Student Enrichment Services’ (SES) One Form application is now open for all Northwestern undergraduates. The SES One Form allows Northwestern students to apply for multiple funding opportunities to assist with co-curricular activities through a single application.
Madisen Hursey, Vice President of Northwestern Quest Scholars Network, commented on the SES One Form’s benefits for low-income students. “Most low-income students have to explain why they need funding for something, and if you have to explain why to many different places, it’s cumbersome to have to tell your story over and over again; to explain yourself over and over again.”
SES has partnered with 13 campus organizations including Chicago Field Studies, NUDM, and the Student Activities Scholarship Fund to offer financial assistance to students in an easy and succinct manner. Christina A. Smith, Administrative Assistant for SES, explained the need for the SES One Form. “[It] opens up a lot of opportunities” and “assists students with finding ways to feel more like part of the campus.”
The SES One Form is now open online, but each application has its own timeline so students should research each funding opportunity in detail for more information. More information can be found on the SES website. For more information:
The SES One Form has been in the works for the past two years as an effort to increase transparency and inform students about all the opportunities available to them outside of the classroom. Financial Operations in Central Budget provided the seed money which moved this initiative forward. One of the goals of the SES office, according to Smith, is creating ties to the campus and building friendships through these unique opportunities. “A lot of youth identity is developed in college, and if you can’t access these opportunities, this identity can be even more challenging to discover,” Smith commented.
Kourtney Cockrell k-cockrell@northwestern.edu
Applications are open to all undergraduates, and students can apply to as many opportunities as they want to. Students only need to submit their information once into the form instead of repeating it for each application, and funding is determined by each individual program with some programs taking financial need into consideration in determining who receives their grants.
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WELCOME DR. ROBERT PALINKAS, NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH SERVICE After an evening working out at LA Fitness, Robert Palinkas was walking back to his gym locker when a flurry of motion caught his eye. A group of people had gathered around a man lying horizontal on the ground. From the panicked looks on their faces, Palinkas could tell that something was wrong. They said, ‘We need a doctor,’ and I said, ‘Well, I’ve got that.’ That’s my passion - for medical care.”
Meetings with financial advisors, nurses, Health Promotion and Wellness representatives, and insurance stakeholders all keep Dr. Palinkas busy throughout the day. These play a crucial part in tailoring Northwestern’s health service to what students need. Northwestern’s medical practices need to fit with the insurance plan, and that requires meetings looking ahead to the next plan.
It’s a fitting attitude for Northwestern’s new Executive Director of Health Service. Previously serving as the director of Health Services at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Palinkas came to Northwestern in January of 2017 with almost sixteen years of experience in college health services. Before that, Dr.
Still, Dr. Palinkas has no intention of relinquishing the relationship between patients and doctors. Right now, Dr. Palinkas is working on developing what’s called a Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC). SHAC is a group of students and Health Services administrators who discuss student concerns and needs in regards to Northwestern’s Health Services as well as suggestions for improvement. Dr. Palinkas will spend some time working on the patient care side to get more familiar with the processes and be able to take on some of the electronic health record methods for providing health care. “I think part of it is just going to be interaction with the individual patients that might come here,” Dr. Palinkas explained. “The other part is interaction with groups of students like SHAC.”
NUHS: KEEPING NORTHWESTERN HEALTHY
Palinkas was a medical administrator, but was drawn to college health because of a number of factors. “There is no school that prepares one for college health,” Dr. Palinkas laughed. “But I was attracted to college health because number one, it’s a lot of fun to work with a younger population. It’s a very intelligent population, so it’s always fun to have that kind of interaction with your patients.” He added, “I also have an interest in infectious diseases, and that’s a strong component of public health that you have to consider when you’re running a health services.”
These long-term plans will directly affect students as Dr. Palinkas is also looking into expanding insurance plans for students. “We want to grow the health service, make sure that, if we can, we acquire a bigger portfolio of benefits for students,” he said. “We’re looking at travel consultation and other things that can be of value to the campus as it starts taking on a stronger global mission. More people need medical focus here, and that’ll probably be my main thrust.” Luckily, doing that is what Dr. Palinkas loves. “How do you devise quality systems for good medical care?” Dr. Palinkas asked cheerfully. “Finding the answer to that - that’s what gets me going every day.”
Despite his personal interest, Dr. Palinkas’ passion has always focused on his patients, and his work as an administrator is another way to consider the impact of campus public health on individual patients. His role as executive director requires attention to all areas of health services, not just patient services. Northwestern’s health services are a component of Student Affairs, and while it does a bit of research, their main function in Student Affairs is direct patient care. “We have to be careful to spend nearly all of our time on patient care,” Dr. Palinkas said. “While Northwestern as a large entity is heavily into research, that’s the academic side. We at Student Affairs are more on the supportive side, so our main mission is student care. We currently have a number of projects, but research won’t be a big focus of mine.”
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STUDENT AFFAIRS
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