AIMHO Angle September 2019
University of Utah
Contents 3 President's Corner 5 ACUHO-I Convention & Exposition: Reflecting on a Journey 8 Stars College: Are yoru Students Aspiring Housing Professionals? 10 New Opportunities for Learning 12 Award Nominations Open 13 AIMHO 2019- Share the Journey 16 Welcome 16 AIMHO 365 update 17 Hot Take Spotlight 18 Annual Giving 19 AIMHO Programs 20 RAppin'
President’s Corner Cory Shapiro, AIMHO President, Arizona State University Congratulations on making it through training, move-in, and perhaps even a few weeks into your semester or quarter! I hope you are all taking care of yourselves after so many non-stop days of working and caring for your residents and staff members. I would like to take a moment to once again share a few of our recent accomplishments within our Association. First, it was wonderful getting to know many of you and even your students this summer in Toronto, Canada at the Association of College and University Residence Halls – International (ACUHO-I) Annual Convention & Exposition. More than sixty AIMHO members joined members from three other regions for this year’s regional social. This included Tyler Thomas from Utah State University and Taryn Rae Wright from the University of Wyoming. Tyler and Taryn were this year’s AIMHO New Professional Award recipients. See the separate article in this AIMHO Angle edition to learn more about the ACUHO-I experiences of Tyler and Taryn. Prior to the start of ACUHO-I, I got to know 60 amazing student leaders who may be future housing professionals at STARS College. That included four of our own students: Alison Brown (University of Idaho), Ariel Lauer (Colorado College), Grayson McKeown (University of Colorado Boulder), and Hannah Evans (University of Regina in Saskatchewan). Alison and Grayson also received STARS College Scholarships from AIMHO. You can also read more about STARS College and Alison’s experiences in a separate article in this AIMHO Angle edition. Speaking of students, our regional housing student organization IACURH has an amazing Director Crysi Muhwezi (Utah State University) who was at ACUHO-I and presented Ramadan Iftar, the NACURH Daniel Siler Program of the Year. I’m excited to share that Crysi will be at the upcoming AIMHO Annual Conference. At our AIMHO Summer Meeting in June, we continued working as a Leadership Team to figure out ways to make our Association and the many ways to be engaged more inclusive all-around. If you work with one of our State & Provincial Representatives or serve on one of our committees or task forces, you may have been a part of some of these initiatives.
AIMHO aspires to be your inclusive 1 Stop Shop with many ways for you to be involved and receive innovative education opportunities. One great example of this is the upcoming AIMHO Symposium (in addition to AIMHO College and the Senior Housing Office Institute) as a PreConference Institute at our Annual Conference. Another example is our AIMHO Housing Operations & Ancillary Partnerships Task Force, which focuses on ways to engage Housing staff (from units other than Residential Life) with AIMHO. See Past President Brad Shade’s article in this edition of the AIMHO Angle for more details about this amazing task force. It's my pleasure to announce that we have selected an interim Technology Coordinator through the Annual Conference, at which time we will be electing someone to this position. Congratulations to Luke Symington from The University of Arizona, and a special thank you to Luke as he fills this position. We also have two AIMHO Executive Committee Members who have had to step down from their positions: Entry-Level Member at Large Emilie Waggoner and Corporate Relations Coordinator Cassie Balzarini. We appreciate all of the work that Emilie and Cassie have given to our Association! Stay tuned for more details on our upcoming AIMHO Executive Committee Elections as we have several positions that we will be electing at our AIMHO Business Meeting in November. Finally, there is so much excitement around the corner as we prepare to host first the RAppin’ Conference in Laramie, Wyoming (hosted by the University of Wyoming) from October 4-5 and then of course, the AIMHO Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah (hosted by the University of Utah) from November 19-21. Be watching our AIMHO website (aimho.org) for updates about both conferences. Even if you are unable to join either of them, please promote them both to your teams while also participating in some of our year-round learning opportunities such as the free webinars that our AIMHO 365 team puts together. As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any ideas of how AIMHO can better serve you, your peers, or your institution. Have a great start to your semester or quarter!
ACUHO-I Convention & Exposition: Reflecting on a Journey
By Taryn Rae Wright, University of Wyoming and Tyler Thomas, Utah State University Quick Note by Cory Shapiro, Arizona State University
Quick Note by Cory Shapiro: We were fortunate enough to provide some funding to two AIMHO members to attend ACUHO-I this year. Taryn Rae Wright and Tyler Thomas were among a number of AIMHO members who applied for the available funding. They demonstrated a financial need while having great plans for what they wanted to get out of their experiences. Please be on the lookout for a message to be sent out in Spring 2020 as we look for who to represent AIMHO at ACUHO-I in Portland in July 2020. In the meantime, Please take a moment to read about Taryn and Tyler’s meaningful experiences in Toronto, Canada.
Crysi Muhwezi (IACURH Director) holds up the "I" and Cory Shapiro (AIMHO President) holds up the "A" both of the word ACUHO-I.
ACUHO-I Reflections by Taryn Rae Wright: Attending ACUHO-I for the first time in Toronto, Canada was an incredible experience! Not only was I able to connect with former colleagues (both from my alma mater and my ACUHO-I Internship), but I was also able to collaborate with new colleagues while diving deep into the dynamic work being done in our field. I especially enjoyed learning from Dr. Karen Inkelas and her research on LivingLearning Communities that Work: A Best Practices Model as the University of Wyoming aspires to have every student on-campus in a Living-Learning Community by 2022. While I manage a 600-person residence hall and supervise 22 Resident Assistants, my community is unique in that we house four floors of student athletes, but currently only have two Living-Learning Communities amongst 12 floors. At ACUHO-I, I was able to share this personally with Dr. Inkelas and gain her perspective on engaging student athletes while developing new and innovative communities. In addition to stimulating educational sessions, I also participated in the Case Study Competition which focused on students of concern and connecting individuals to the appropriate campus & community resources. I highly recommend the Case Study competition for new professionals as it allows you and your partner to compare best practices while sharing your own skills and insight. ACUHO-I truly is the premier hub for housing professionals and I am so grateful that I was recognized by AIMHO as a New Professional Award Winner!�
ACUHO-I Reflections by Tyler Thomas: I had a tremendously good time at ACUHO-I. It was an adventure worth every penny that I put toward it. I did not intend on going to ACUHO-I. My university did not have the resources to send more than three people, and each of them had a critical purpose in attending. However, opportunity beckoned when Cory informed me of an award that I could apply for to help me go. I applied. I received the award. I tthen made plans for the trip. The trip to Toronto was long. To save money, I first took a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina. The journey included a five-hour layover before proceeding to Toronto. However, arriving at my final destination, I quickly made the most of it. I visited Niagara Falls with my colleagues and indulged in as many maple foods as I could. Within the next few days I would eat poutine, find a store that inspired a Canadian sitcom, walk miles through Toronto, stumble upon the Pride Parade, visit an aquarium and navigate Lake Ontario. I made new friends and I rediscovered a sense of wonder that I had long been lacking. I also had the opportunity to ponder over all things housing and residence life. Whether it was learning about the history of on-campus housing or the effectiveness of group process activities in hiring, ACUHO-I helped me to better develop my ideas regarding higher education and my role within it. For this I owe the session presenters and facilitators as well as all those who worked to make the ACUHO-I conference happen. It was refreshing to be among so many enthusiastic, sincere, and dedicated professionals. One session that I really enjoyed was The Role of Residence Life in Undergraduate Persistence. I really appreciated seeing data in the form of lots of numbers. I thought that the current data suggests that, while the housing side of things does have evidence that it helps with persistence in students due to proximity, there seems to be evidence that the residence life side is not having so much of an impact in student persistence. If this turns out to be true, then it suggests that we might really need to shake up how we, speaking of many universities collectively, currently run our educational programming within housing and residence life. The study has not yet been completed, so I cannot say anything too definitive about it yet, but I am now very intrigued about what it may discover upon completion. The ACUHO-I Conference and Expo was a delight. I would be very pleased to attend it again.
STARS College: Are Your Students Aspiring Housing Professionals? By Cory Shapiro, Arizona State University This past June, approximately sixty undergraduate students interested in Housing as a career joined ten faculty members in Toronto, Canada. This is a part of program called STARS College, which is put on each year by ACUHO-I. Hosted this year at the University of Toronto Mississauga, STARS College participants spent three days going through a series of large group presentations, interactive activities, role play scenarios, selfassessments, and small mentoring groups. This year, AIMHO was represented at STARS College by four students: Alison Brown (University of Idaho), Ariel Lauer (Colorado College), Grayson McKeown (University of Colorado Boulder), and Hannah Evans (University of Regina). Cory Shapiro (Arizona State University) served as a faculty member for his third year in the role; this was his final year of a three-year term as a faculty member. Congratulations to Alison Brown and Grayson McKeown for being recipients of AIMHO STARS College Scholarships. When asked about her experience, Alison Brown said the following: “My STARS College experience was one of the best experiences I have ever had. My favorite parts of it were seeing Canada and not only getting to talk about different Housing and Residence experiences from the States but also from Canada. I loved getting to see a different campus and learning all about the amazing things that Housing and Residence Life does for students all over no matter where they go to school. I am excited to see where my Housing and Residence Life journey takes me! I love working with students and seeing them grow and learn while living in the residence halls and experiencing life on campus. My STARS experience made me fall in love even more with Student Affairs and working with students. I can’t wait to experience more in the field and see where it takes me."
As ACUHO-I is looking to increase our number of applications from AIMHO member schools, please encourage any stellar students who are interested in the field of housing and student affairs to apply when applications are available between early January and early March 2020. More details will be available at http://www.acuhoi.org/events/stars. STARS College 2020 will be hosted in Portland, Oregon immediately prior to the ACUHO-I Convention & Exposition in July 2020. AIMHO offers STARS College Scholarships, and NACURH also offers scholarships each year.
New Opportunities for Learning A Note from Past President Brad Shade “Great things happen to those who don't stop believing, trying, learning, and being grateful.” ― Roy T. Bennett I like this quote as it encompasses much of where our AIMHO strategic initiatives are guiding our path moving forward. President Shapiro put together a Housing Operations & Ancillary Partnerships Task Force after our Summer meeting. Knowing that every housing professional should be expanding their horizons in order to be more effective in their current role and as they consider moving into new roles where different skillsets and abilities are required. Thus, new focal areas will round out the professional experiences of many of our typical AIMHO attendees, but more importantly, it will attract new professionals who may not be attending our annual conference currently due to very few presentations and opportunities for people in operational roles .This Task Force met for the first time in midSeptember and had some great discussions on how to get Operations/Ancillary personnel involved. Some of the initial group ideas were as follows: Utilizing the Program Committee to see what programs are being offered in these areas.·
At present, we do not offer a lot of programs/resources for these individuals. We need to look at diversifying efforts to ensure we are reaching a greater audience Potentially creating a resource document identifying people in operational roles at each institution to enhance their ability to connect to colleagues. Potentially creating a “group or listserv” to post questions and respond to one another leveraging our website. Metadata – listing of software, furniture, equipment being used at other institutions. Potentially create a program track for the annual conference focused on these areas. Holding roundtable discussions at the conference and through the year. Continuing or enhancing facilities tours at annual conference and at drive in conferences. Potentially creating a Facilities and Operations “Pre-Conference” opportunity Partnering with AIMHO 365 in additional webinars to build ACUHO-I Competencies
This is just the starting point for a new way that we can live out our Strategic Initiatives: 1. Involvement – we would love to offer more reasons for new people to attend. 2. One-Stop Shop – Comprehensive training opportunities for all professionals 3. Innovative Education – We are thinking about new means and methods to educate our region and provide a skill set for those aspiring to director level roles. 4. Inclusion - we are thinking more broadly about how we can reach those that are currently not attending or sharing their expertise.
We know that there are many people across our region that this could benefit and we would love to have your collective assistance in sharing this opportunity with them. Please feel free to send names to myself, Cory Shapiro or Chip Thomas of anyone you think should be a part of these conversations moving forward.
AIMHO 2019: Share the Journey November 19-21, 2019 Happy Fall! You survived move-in and have likely hit the ground running in a new school year. We’re here to remind you to do something for yourself and your own personal and professional development. Join us at the AIMHO 2019 Annual Conference in Salt Lake City! Registration is now open. Here’s top 5 reasons you should register today: Share the Journey. This year, our conference planning committee chose “share the journey” to be AIMHO 2019’s theme. We chose this phrase as a reminder that a strength of AIMHO is our ability to learn from each other. That means we need you! Your perspective and experiences are valuable to our field, and we look forward to hearing from you.
It’s Fall in Utah, Y’all. So admittedly, it’s hard to determine what exactly the weather has in store for Utah during the end of November. One thing we can promise you is that it will be nothing short of beautiful. You’ll get a glimpse of colored leaves in the valley and snow caps in the mountains. If outdoors are your thing, we’ll have plenty of recommendations to take advantage of all Utah has to offer. If cuddling up by the fire and admiring from indoors is more your speed, we’ll join you with a mug of something warm and cozy. Community: Brings Us Together. Without a doubt one of the most beneficial things about attending an AIMHO gathering is the network opportunities that accompany it. Last year, over 180 gathered in Tempe for AIMHO 2018. We look forward to seeing long-time AIMHO conference attendees this year as well as welcoming new faces to the circle. Come grow your professional network, and you’ll find that you’ll be making friends along the way. Downtown SLC. In Earlier Angle articles we’ve shared some of our favorite downtown Salt Lake City spots that are nearby our conference venue. If you need a refresher, check out some of those recommendations on our conference website. AIMHO 2019 will be held in the heart of Salt Lake City, which helps ensure that the fun continues after conference sessions are over. Something For Everyone. Whether you’re a someone interested in AIMHO College & AIMHO Symposium, a mid-level professional, or a SHO Institute attendee, the AIMHO 2019 conference schedule will have something for everyone. AIMHO affinity groups, Keynote sessions, and breakout opportunities will allow you leave the conference with new ideas and action plans. Stay tuned for a preview of our conference schedule to be posted online soon! The deadline to register and reserve hotel spaces is Sunday, October 27 at midnight. Click here to register today!
Register Here
New ASU University Housing Staff Members:· Samantha Gonzalez, Coordinator Sr. at ASU Tempe Campus· Jacqueline Todd, Business Analyst at ASU Tempe Campus· Bethany Harowitz, Coordinator Sr. at ASU Tempe Campus· Suzannah Whitlatch, Management Intern for Greek Leadership Village at ASU Tempe Campus· Taryn Ray, Administrative Assistant at ASU Tempe Campus· Nicole Jones, Community Director at ASU Tempe Campus· Travis Gabriel, Assistant Director at ASU West Campus· David Shirer, Community Director at ASU Tempe Campus· Lazaro Gonzalez, Community Director at ASU Tempe Campus· Tifanee Minnieweather, Community Director at ASU West Campus Send us an update about your new staff members so we can welcome them into our little family.
AIMHO 365 Hello AIMHO! We'd like to let you know about an upcoming webinar on October 2nd @ 2:30pm! As you begin to make plans to attend the annual conference we want you all to be aware of exciting changes and pre-conference opportunities! See below for registration link. As always, the webinar will be posted to our YouTube page after the broadcast. Please check out our page for more upcoming webinars and let us know if you're interested in presenting! October 2, 2019 - 2:30 pm MDT AIMHO Pre Conference Development Workshops - Come find out about your professional development opportunities hosted by AIMHO. We have workshops available for grads, new professionals, advancing professionals and senior housing officers. This is an opportunity to connect, discuss and engage with coworkers across the region. Presenters - Kyle Oldham is the chair of the AIMHO College committee and believes in education as a tool for growth and development of self, environment, and career. Rosemary Ramirez is a dedicated housing professional that believes in education, support, and inclusion of all voices. Her experience provides her with a keen eye and intentional engagement to support personal and professional growth and development. REGISTRATION LINK - https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7012541527681915916 Thank you!AIMHO 365 Committee
Hot Take Spotlight At the end of August Cody Charles published this peice that has been making it's way around the internet. Take a look and shoot us a response on Facebook or Twitter. "At times, I felt like I was in battle and the rest of my colleagues (in various departments around campus) were living the civilian life — still not easy living. I experienced students at their lowest lows which is honorable and beautiful, but it’s not without an intimate price."
"... the majority of residence life staff is exhausted before the commencement of class, but continue to be over-labored throughout the year — summers included. Higher education culture says that residence life staff must participate in every campus program and initiative."
"So when I say, I don’t believe you can make a career of residence life and expect to be well, please trust that it is well thought out and personally experienced."
"We’re told the resident assistant position is fun and life changing. However, what’s not said is that the bulk of the fun will be bonding over trauma. Student staff are told to put on their oxygen mask first, but in practice there are consequences for choosing self over the residence life community."
FB: https://www.facebook.com/AIMHO.Intermountain Twitter: @aimho
Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference. – Kathy Calvin, CEO & President of the United Nations Foundation ACUHO-I Foundation In A Nutshell The ACUHO-I Foundation supports the future of the campus housing profession. They support research on who benefits from living on campus and why it matters. They also underwrite the cost for the STARS College and National Housing Training Institute. As a way to gather benchmarking data across institutions, they have helped to support the Campus Housing Index where departments upload their information in order to do a quick reference against other institutions. Data Collection just opened for the Campus Housing Index. ACUHO-I Foundation Table at the Annual Conference As a way to support the Foundation, there is a drawing a the annual conference. You can purchase tickets for the drawing and designate which drawing options you want to place your tickets in. the drawings will take place at the closing banquet. Donations: In order to have some great prizes for the Drawingwe need your support by bringing a donation. Please drop it off at the Registration table. Suggested items: A copy of a great book you just read A gift card to a national chain available across the region Re-gifts… something nice but not your style Your art: photos, art pieces, pottery, ceramics Coffee/Tea/Cocoa from your state
Giving: AIMHO is again striving to have 100% of registered attendees make a donation at the Annual Conference. You will receive a 2019 AIMHO lapel pin if you make a donation of $5 or more. You will again be able to Text to Give with the $25 donation being added to your personal cell phone bill. Make a Pledge If you are at the conference or not, you can make a pledge! Please consider entering into a pledge that will be deducted from your account or charged to your credit card each month. The amount could be $5 a month or up to the Individual Major Donor level of $83.33 per month or $1000 per year for 5 years. Instead of Presents Is your birthday coming up? Many individuals have asked for donations to a “charity of choice or giving destination” for their birthday instead of presents. Have you considered identifying the ACUHO-I Foundation as your “giving destination”? Not going to the Annual AIMHO Conference? No worries, you can still complete a pledge or support the Foundation by donating online, just type in the text box that you are giving at a conference- AIMHO. Thank you for your consideration, Barb Remsburg ACUHO-I Regional Cabinet Representative for AIMHO BRemsburg@housing.utah.edu
AIMHO PROGRAMS- Are you ready for a comprehensive learning experience? From Korrin Fagenstrom Ready for a comprehensive learning experience at the 2019 AIMHO Annual Conference? We are! The program committee was really excited of this year’s program submissions and hope you enjoy the variety which will be available at the conference. The full schedule will be available as we get closer to the conference, but here is a quick glance by the numbers! Our programs are categorized by target audience, content tracks, and session type. Target audience elements include the professional level and the institutional type which the session is best suited for; content tracks, based on AUCHO-I Core Competencies, outline those areas that are unique in housing and residence life when compared to other fields or areas of student affairs; session types help to discern the format of the session and what attendees can expect in terms of applying the content in the session to their campus.
Our registration form is still live, please be sure to check it out and get your delegation registered! You can find the registration form on our website here. Our registration deadline is Monday September 30th, we are excited for you all to sign up! As you are registering please also take a moment to fill out the travel information for which is linked on the registration form. It can also be found here. We are excited for you to join us in a few short weeks and want to ensure that your full experience, including travel, goes as smoothly as possible! We want to take a moment to thank everyone who submitted program proposals. We are ready to learn from you all. As a reminder we will be notifying folks by September 24th at the latest to inform them if their program proposal has been accepted. Once you arrive in Laramie for the conference we want to ensure that your check in process goes smoothly as well. We will be hosting check-in tables at both conference hotels and you will be able to check in with us and the hotel right in the lobby as you arrive. We will be reaching out as the conference draws nearer to confirm hotels for all delegations so we can be prepared to get you checked-in in a timely manner
