INSIDE THIS ISSUE

New Professional Networking

3

Running a Strong Summer Conference Program

4

The Gap Year 6

Supervising Seniors 7

NEACURH Update 9

ACUHO-I Update 10

Annual Conference At-A-Glance

11

2006-2007 Executive Board

12

Spring 2007 Edition

For many of us, our interactions with students begin in August with them moving in and then moving out in May or June. Sure there might be exceptions to this with a few students coming in and out, but imagine doing this 16 times a school year! That’s the experience for Dennis Ma-cheska and many others at The Culinary Institute of Amer-ica (CIA). A traveler, a realist, and a very organized pro-fessional, Dennis is having a great time developing his career path in Residence Life in a fun and fast paced envi-ronment.

To give a little more “light” on our spotlight, you may also need to understand the atmosphere that Dennis is working in. With the hands-on experience that the CIA strives to offer, the traditional academic calendar does not exist. Students there can work towards both an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree but in each of those academic realms, they are required to go off campus and into the real world. For the Student Housing office, this means that every 3 weeks, 10% of the student body is turned over. With 16 entry dates and 16 graduation dates, CIA has perfected a system of hav-ing an ongoing RA selection process and student assignment procedure. For Dennis this means, “refining your organizational skills in a much quicker time”.

Dennis’s career path started while working towards a Russian Language and Business Administration Degree at Kutztown University. After graduating and not being able to find a job in his field, Dennis landed at the CIA as a Residence Director. In addition, in May, Den-nis will earn a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Marist College. These degrees combined, according to Dennis, “will apply to many aspects” and “will leave many doors open.” Those doors will hopefully be opened in Student Affairs as his long term goals in-clude climbing the Residence Life ladder and becoming a Dean of Students one day.

Not only could Dennis bring his experience and organization skills to that Dean of Stu-dents position one day, he could also bring his green thumb. A self proclaimed plants rights activist, Dennis talked about the large amounts of plants he has when asked to describe his office. These plants, usually left behind by students, are nursed back to life in his office. Also included in his office are trinkets and flags from his travels, pictures, awards (he was RD of the year 2 years in a row), and a lucky cat. When asked further about the lucky cat, he described it to me as an Asian tradition that is supposed to bring good luck and success through its constantly moving, battery operated, paw.

Many of us have mentors or people that we’ve learned a lot from. For Dennis, it’s Melissa “Missy” Stock from Kutztown. Missy, who is currently Assistant Director of John-son Hall, Honors Sacony Commons, taught Dennis to be authentic and not to give students false hope. He says, “I learned not to paint pretty pictures of things that aren’t really pretty”. Through this, he feels that this work ethic has allowed him to gain a lot of respect from peo-ple very quickly. Through balancing diplomacy and honesty, Dennis strives not to give stu-dents false hope and lead them out the door with the “real deal.”

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Dennis Macheska By Jeff Spain, Rochester Institute of Technology

On behalf of the New Professional Development Committee

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Continued from previous page. In trying to meet the needs of his students, Dennis has developed some great programming. One of his biggest events is a well-

ness expo. Looking into the needs of his students, people who are going into the culinary arts are on their feet for a good part of the day. In addition, the steam and food they are working with isn’t necessarily skin friendly. With this knowledge, Dennis developed a large expo that brings in 45 to 55 health practitioners that addresses these needs along with other health topics. The free advice and services include chiropractic care, feng shui, motivational speakers, and facials. Dennis is also known at CIA for his "Souper" Bowl Party where his staff makes 5 or 6 different types of soups to serve while watching the football game, and the annual late night barbeque he plans during a month long, alcohol-free weekend event series.

I asked Dennis more about his interest in traveling and other things he likes to do outside of the position. He mentioned that he’s always planning some sort of trip to somewhere new. While there, he visits the historical parts of the region. He also has taken advantage of culture close to the CIA with the different historical homes in the Hyde Park area. In addition, Dennis likes to read mostly nonfiction and autobiographical works and enjoys hiking and walking.

Even with these interests and his busy job, Dennis also works with the NEACUHO New Professionals Committee coordinating the local socials that have been happening across the region. Through his help and advertising, the New Professional Committee has been trying to provide opportunities for Residence Life professionals to gather in a social setting to network and share ideas. Keep an eye out for his information and a social happening in your area!

The development of these socials has also encouraged Dennis to look into the possibility of developing a venue that would bring together RDs from the Hudson Valley region to share information, collaborate on different projects, and also possibly com-bine resources related to the training of RAs.

Through his programmatic, organized, “green thumbed,” and realistic approach to Residence Life and students in general, Den-nis makes a great New Professional Spotlight for this edition of the Navigator.

If you know someone who you think should be a New Professional Spotlight, please send the name and a brief narrative of their background to Jeff Spain at jeff.spain@rit.edu.

NEW PROFESSIONAL SPOTLIGHT

http://www.savoyfurniture.com/

JOHN SAVOY & SONS, INC.

“product and service you can depend on”

P.O. Box 248 Montoursville, PA 17754

Tel: (800) 233-8953 Fax: (570) 368-3280

NEACUHO Navigator Spring Edition 2007 Page 3

As a new professional, you are probably sitting behind your desk, eating lunch, trying to catch up on e-mail and other administrative tasks, waiting for summer to arrive so you can take some time for yourself. Taking down time is very important as a new professional; it is just as valuable to connect with other colleagues in the NEACUHO Region.

From June 6-9, Castleton State College is opening their doors for the NEACUHO Annual Conference. As a new professional you should be saving these dates, as this is a phenomenal “Opportunity for Reflection” and a good chance to connect with others in the NEACUHO region. This conference will provide a myriad of ways for you to get involved while reflecting and enjoying the beautiful surroundings of Vermont.

Now you may be sitting at your desk finishing that salad thinking, “I do not know about this conference. This is my first year as a Hall Director, and I am still just trying to learn about my building. Is this really a place for me?” Or, you may be thinking, “I have been in my job for 2 years now. Can this conference possibly provide me with anything pro-fessionally that will help with my specific job?” The answer to these questions is quite simple: YES! Did you know that there are more than 150 institutions that are members of NEACUHO? Just think about all the great people you will be able to meet by simply going to the Annual Conference. The possibilities are endless. Some professional development might be exactly what you need to enrich the work you currently do, help you feel connected in our field and in your region, and offer you some much deserved time for reflection. Plus, it is bound to be fun.

Now to ease your mind and give you a framework to get ready for the conference, here are five steps that will help you be successful:

1. Bring business cards – This conference is about learning, but it is also about networking with other profession-als across the region.

2. Sign up for the case study – This is a great way for New Professionals to get involved and meet new people. 3. Join a committee – This is the best way for you to stay involved once you leave the conference. 4. Take advantage of the CHOs – There will be a

number of chief housing officers at this conference, introduce yourself and begin a conversation. They are great people to know on your journey in this field.

5. Engage, Ask Questions and Challenge – These are a few thoughts you should keep in mind when you are attending the sessions. You are only going to get out of the sessions what you put into them.

After exploring these five ideas, you can see how easy

and beneficial this conference will be for any new profes-sional. If you are still feeling unsure, The New Professional Development Committee would like you to know that there will be an Orientation for new professionals on the first day of the conference. This event will help you understand the conference layout and schedule, introduce you to the NEA-CUHO Executive Board and the New Professional Develop-ment Committee, and help you meet other new professionals attending the conference.

Now that you are excited about joining us for this “Opportunity for Reflection,” go to the conference web site (http://www.neacuho2007.org) and sign up for what is going to be an amazing professional development experience for you! See you in Vermont!

Connecting as a New Professional Opportunities for Reflection

By Joshua D. Lawrie, Syracuse University & Jana M. Jacobson, Emerson College On behalf of the New Professional Development Committee

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For several years, the idea of summer was a time for plan-ning Professional Staff and RA Training, first year student placement, renovations, and hopefully vacation. Many Resi-dence Life and Housing offices now have a new objective to their summer: running a successful Summer Conference Pro-gram. What do you need to know? Will you be successful? Can you balance other responsibilities that you will need to accom-plish?

As you prepare for the summer, having a dependable stu-dent staff is key to your operation. Without staff in place noth-ing you plan for can happen. As you begin to discuss the sum-mer conference operation, it is important to have a plan on staff-ing (both professional and student) to ensure adequate staffing, set up and tear down, and assistance for your guests. I suggest that your professional staff sit down during the early part of the Spring Semester or during Spring Break to discuss how your summer operations can work for your department. Each institu-tion will have a different way of running their Summer Confer-ence Operation, but one thing that is vital to its success is the communication amongst your professional staff. Our staff be-gins each morning with a 30 minute meeting to discuss what has to occur for all parts of our operation to be successful. At the end of the day, an e-mail is sent to discuss what has hap-pened and what must be followed up on for the next day, week, or conference.

What does your summer conference operation look like? Are you responsible for just keys and rooms or does staff clean rooms, make beds, check in guests and provide duty rotation for guests? Do you have conferences that stay a few days or remain for most of the summer? Do you work with other offices and departments to ensure that the Summer Conference Operation will run smoothly?

Summer Conference Operations at Roger Williams Univer-sity, works with several offices on campus (Conferences, Din-ing, Public Safety, and Facilities to name a few); and our weekly meetings ensure that we will remain on the same page to provide customer service to our guests. Our operation in-cludes staff making beds for our guests, which can be its own process. How do you handle your linen? Do you launder or do you send out the cleaners? How do the linen pick up and drop offs happen? Again communication (and sometimes creativity), will need to happen to make this run smoothly for your opera-tion. Do certain conferences get special treatment such as linen and towel exchanges or weekly room cleaning? If you have special services, communication is key not only for your staff but your conference guests as well.

As you plan for your Summer Conference operation, qual-ity is vital to the success of your program and your guests’ satis-faction. As you work with your staff (both professional and student) the theory of Total Quality Management (TQM) might assist you in training. TQM states that the management of an

operation has a total commitment to high quality results in all aspects of one’s work or organization’s operation. As you start working with the theory, your institution’s missions and values will come into play. For example, in our office any staff mem-ber (even our Directors) will assist in preparing for rooms if we have a short conference turnover. When our student staff sees that everyone can help with their job, they are thankful and see that we are willing to do what it takes to get the job done.

If you are looking to have TQM in your operation, you can use these eight rules of TQM philosophy with summer confer-ence staff training:

Quality is everyone’s job Quality comes from prevention, not inspection Quality means meeting the needs of customers Quality demands teamwork Quality requires continuous improvement Quality involves strategic planning Quality means results Quality requires clear measures of success Here are some helpful hints to remember as you begin the

summer conference season:

Timeline for hiring your staff: What are you looking for in regards to positions, advertising the jobs to the cam-pus community, how do you entice students to remain on campus during the summer and receive minimum wages?

Training: Once you hire your staff, what type of training do you need to ensure you have quality service and dedication for a 10 to 14 week summer. Is there a summer manual? Are staff members responsible for duty? Don’t forget about student development and customer service as you prepare.

Supervision: Who supervises the summer staff in your department? Is there more than one supervisor? How do students know who to go to for help?

Team Development: After you hire and train a staff they will need time and nurturing from the professional staff to develop and work as a well-oiled machine for the program. Do you have the time to do this before your operation begins? Try having the summer staff work together to set up an office, supply room, or con-ference space so that they can learn about each other beyond the normal staff icebreakers.

Developing ownership: You will need to work with your students (and sometimes your professional staff) to provide quality service to your summer guests. Em-power your professional staff to make decisions and

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Starting the Summer Off Right Summer conferences can be fun

By Carol Sacchetti, Roger Williams University On behalf of the Residential Operations Committee

Resources Schermerhorm, John R., Jr.; Hunt, James G.; & Osborn, Richard N.

Organizational Behavior. 8th edition. Wiley. 2003.

NEACUHO Navigator Spring Edition 2007 Page 5

Continued from previous page work with student staff on basic principles they can remember throughout the summer

Reward staff who go above and beyond: Do you have a reward system in place for summer staff? Let them read evalua-tions/letters from past summer guests. Think creatively--- we have hosted barbecues, ice cream socials, and lunch for our staff—the little things go a long way.

Remember expectations are there to avoid surprises: It’s al-ways hard to have to provide training that is fun, allow for staff development and to teach and work with your staff. Set-ting clear expectations will assist in avoiding future staff ac-tion issues with student employees. If they are aware of ex-pectations ahead of time, it will make for an easier summer.

Communication is essential for your summer staff, other depart-

ments, summer conference guests and any outside vendors. Trust me this will make your summer easier and everyone involved will be grateful.

Page 6 Winter Edition 2006 NEACUHO Navigator

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an

invincible summer.”

~Albert Camus, French existentialist/philosopher (1913-1960)

THE GAP YEAR A break from reality or a continuation of learning?

By Stephanie Ketterl, St. John Fisher College On behalf of the Media & Publications Committee

The increasing popularity of the ‘gap year’ has nothing to do with keeping up with the latest fashion trends - some high school graduates have other things in mind when it comes to planning for their college years. Students choosing to partake in a gap year trade in pre college jitters for community service, volunteering, extensive travel, or educational opportunities abroad which usually involves immersion in a culture different from their own.

The growing trend of students taking a gap year dates back to Europe in the 1980’s and is now gaining momentum in the United States. Students who choose to take a ‘gap year’ vary in terms of academic and financial ability. Some use the ex-perience as a way to overcome a poor decision making during high school while others use it as a way to gain an edge over other applicants at competitive institutions.

Although some parents worry “that taking a year off” will deter their student from attending college altogether and the contrary is often true. These students very frequently view their gap year experiences during their “time off” just as important as formal education. When reflecting on their gap year experiences, students who take time for self exploration and personal growth have had time to “figure things out” before they start college and usually have a greater sense of focus and maturity.

Regardless of why high school graduates decide to take a gap year; this trend has the potential to drastically change the needs of incoming freshman at colleges and universities.

Very little research has been done regarding the effects of a gap year on American students. Staying abreast of the spe-cific needs of gap year students will assist residence life professionals in their ability to provide appropriate resources, plan for special interest housing and successfully implement meaningful and effective programs.

Stephanie Ketterl is the Assistant Director of Residential Life at St. John Fisher College. Along with editing, she responsible for the first year

beat for the NEACUHO Navigator.

Resources Gose, B. “If At First They Don’t Succeed: Students use an increas-

ingly popular ‘gap year’ strategy to increase their chances of being accepted at elite institutions.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 5, 2005. 51 (48), p.A40. Retrieved from http://chronicle/com/weekly/v51/i48/48a03001.htm.

Bull, H. “The Possibilities of the Gap Year.” The Chronicle of

Higher Education, July 7, 2006. 52 (44), p.B30. Retrieved from http://chronicle/com/weekly/v52/i44/44b03001.htm.

NEACUHO Navigator Spring Edition 2007 Page 6

NEACUHO Navigator Spring Edition 2007 Page 7

Supervising Seniors Iona’s Plan to Keep Senior RAs Superior

By Michelle Sampson, Iona College

It’s August 2005, and I am sitting at a table running my first staff meeting as a new professional with ten pairs of eyes looking back at me. We do some introductions, I explain my plan for the next two weeks of training, and I go over some ex-pectations. One of my senior RA’s hands pops up: “We didn’t do that last year.” Over the next few months I will hear those words a lot. During winter break I decide to do something to change the way seniors work as members of my team.

As graduate assistants and new professionals we are often faced with the opportunity and challenge of supervising senior resident assistants. Senior RAs offer a wealth of knowledge to help acclimate us to the college or university, department, divi-sion, and buildings we work with. It’s important to recog-nize this. However, they also offer some special challenges.

While we are excited in our new positions and ready to define and practice our devel-oping leadership style, seniors are not nearly as excited about the change. Housing and resi-dential life offices tend to have many personnel changes, but RAs may not be familiar with that trend. Our hire might be the first personnel change our seniors have seen. And they may have been happy with their former supervisor. Or maybe this is the second big change seniors have seen. They know what change is like and do not want another big adjustment. We see change as a great devel-opmental opportunity for our seniors, but they might disagree. When everything else in their lives is about to change, they may just want their school family to be a constant.

Supervisors must be sensitive to senior developmental is-sues like finding a job, applying to graduate school, taking en-trance exams, looking for apartments, changing relationships, meeting academic requirements, managing other leadership positions, and fulfilling the obligations of the RA job. I want my seniors to know I support them, but they still have a job to do.

I also recognize that new professionals can utilize and rec-ognize the strengths of senior RAs. For instance, seniors can seriously affect staff dynamics and our experience as supervi-sors. Seniors can affect how quickly we bond as a group. Sen-iors have been at the institution longer than we have and may

feel like they know more. They may feel comfortable publicly challenging new ideas. Seniors can spread negative or positive energy by resisting or complying. Seniors can teach new pro-fessionals the institution’s cultural climate and best practices. And seniors can set standards for our staff’s performance and overall attitude. I benefited from seniors who shortened my learning curve and stepped up as leaders on my staff.

My objective is to balance my need to “win over” seniors and help create a positive staff dynamic and to challenge seniors to adapt to a new supervisory style, to motivate seniors to stay

engaged and grow in the posi-tion, to provide a strong level of support for personal needs, and to keep the RA responsibilities on top of their responsibility heap. To help meet these goals my colleagues and I pieced together Iona’s Senior Plan: Summer Training: After lis-tening to seniors complain about training in the summer and again in the winter, my colleagues took action. All returning and senior RAs take turns running a daily energizer activity and calling roll call after each break. These are two easy ways to give seniors the opportunity to take ownership of their second or third summer training. Also, many schools allow seniors to provide the acting or advising portion of

crisis training scenarios. Iona now even offers returning RAs the opportunity to sit on our RA training committee or help a professional staff member present a training topic. And as a very important part of summer training, seniors have a special session to address their needs.

In this session I help senior RAs preview their senior year, remind seniors of their additional time obligations such as job searching or applying to graduate schools, and encourage them to book time into their weekly schedule for these obligations. My colleague provides them with valuable time management tools. And I remind seniors of one particularly important point: the RA position is a JOB! To help make this point hall direc-tors provide seniors with a “Senior Discount Coupon.” The coupon allows seniors to be late on ONE deadline per semester

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Continued from previous page due to a senior-related obligation. I clearly define what a senior can use his or her coupon for, but most importantly I emphasize that a senior must ask permission to use the coupon in advance. I want to encourage seniors to keep supervisors in the loop, to plan ahead, and to be responsible. I also want to emphasize that senior obligations do not trump job-related commitments.

Secret Seniors: I assign each professional staff member a few seniors. They leave notes, candy, or small gifts in RA mail-boxes signed “From your Secret Senior.” This inexpensive program helps motivate seniors and makes it special to be a senior. We reveal “Secret Seniors” with a small gift at the end of the year. Underclass RAs can also serve as secret seniors.

In addition to these secret notes, each professional staff member takes a turn sending a note of encouragement via email or mailboxes to all seniors every few weeks. This note helps to keep seniors motivated and feeling special. It is also a fun way to make sure seniors check their mailboxes or visit the central office regularly.

Senior Gatherings: Seniors need to get together to relax and share their unique senior RA experiences. To keep these infor-mal sessions positive, I host a residential life sponsored Senior Brunch in the fall and a Senior Sundae in the spring. Profes-sional staff members and senior RAs relax together, discuss future plans, and enjoy the company of those who know their unique challenges. The response to this part of the “Senior Plan” has been overwhelmingly positive for all involved. Host-ing the event in an RHD apartment adds a cozy, relaxed touch. Career Support: Have you had a senior break down in your office because he or she does not know what to do next year? A few of my seniors do not even have a resume. To address the career planning needs of senior RAs I work with our career de-velopment office to encourage RAs to attend a resume work-shop designed to help seniors prepare for the job placement process. If one plans early enough and has a cooperative career services department he or she can create a specialized in-service to help RAs utilize their experiences to design a detailed resume and answer interview questions. Winter Training: How do we keep seniors motivated for their LAST training? I once again separate seniors for a special training session to help them begin the reflection process. I ask them questions: which RAs from your past do you most admire and why? What skills do you still want to acquire before you leave? What role do you play on your staff? And how do you want to be remembered? While some seniors are more ready to start the reflection process than others, most comment that it is the most useful training session they attend. The goal of this session is to make sure seniors start reflecting on their experi-ences, to help them set goals one last time, and to ensure they realize they have one important semester left.

The Exit Interview: One thing I learned as a supervisor is that seniors have a lot to say. We need to give them time to say it. In the first two weeks of May my colleagues invite seniors to make an appointment with either the assistant director or the director of residential life to answer some questions the profes-sional staff developed to get honest feedback about the RA ex-perience. We tell seniors about the opportunity in January as a reminder that we value their input and will listen to their feed-back. Sometimes what we view as “negative energy” is really just a senior passionate about the department and wanting the best for it. More than half of last year’s graduating seniors took advantage of this opportunity and provided valuable feedback. Senior In-Service: During the last in-service of the year I sepa-rate retuning RAs and seniors. Returners discuss summer train-ing plans. Seniors listen to a presenter on financial planning, budgeting, benefits, and negotiating a job offer. While this ses-sion scares seniors a bit, they need it and appreciate the reality check and helpful information. Gifts and Recognition: Most departments do staff wide recog-nition. Iona’s residential life team asks RAs to nominate and vote on awards for their peers. We have found this meaningful for the whole staff. All RAs have input, and winners pride themselves on the nominations. In addition to end of the year gifts given to all staff members, Iona’s seniors get small gifts including key chain picture frames with “ORL” written on them, and as a symbolic joke, paddles with the Greek letters O R L (Office of Residential Life). Seniors truly dedicate them-selves to our department, and we want to recognize their dedi-cation as truly more than just job related. It is also important for each supervisor to clearly help seniors symbolically make the next step. We are closest to them and know their individual strengths and struggles. To help seniors make this step I make a cook book entitled “Recipes for Success.” Every non-senior RA on my staff writes a good luck note to each senior and shares their favorite recipe.

We have identified the strengths and needs of our seniors. My colleagues and I have tried to meet these needs. Our pri-mary goals for our Senior Plan include keeping seniors in-volved, helping them stay positive and productive members of our staff, providing them better support and preparation for their next steps, and learning from their valuable experiences. While we cannot guarantee this plan will change the attitudes of every senior, it has gone a long way to help us work better with ours. We now have outlets for seniors to express themselves and try to make them feel valued. I have often heard non-senior RAs say, “I can’t wait to be a senior.” And it feels great as a super-visor because seniors truly appreciate the effort you are making on their behalf. This plan includes just a few of some easy and inexpensive steps to get the most from our seniors and our-selves!

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The NEACURH Mini No-Frills Conference was hosted by Roger Williams University on DATE. NEACURH raised more than $2,400 for the Children’s Miracle Network and the Neotatic ICU and collected approximately 8 boxes of toys, games and art supplies that were donated to the Children’s Play Dect at Baystate Children’s Hos-pital in Springfield, Mass. A special congratulations goes out to Rhode Island College for their exceptional con-tributions to the Focus Project. The following are the awards presented at the conference:

NEACURH Mini No-Frills Update By Mathew Chetnik, Salem State College

On behalf of NEACURH

Case Study First Place: SUNY Buffalo Second Place: SUNY Geneseo Third Place: Assumption College Passive Programming First Place: Robbery in the Halls (Bridgewater State College) Second Place: Campus Survival (Fairfield University) Third Place: Diversity Fashion Show (Adelphi University) Top 10 Programs (in no particular order) • Sustainability? Residence Halls? What the…?” (Ithaca College) • BEAR (Be Educated About Respect) (Bridgewater State College) • Rhythm of Leadership (Boston College) • Everyone Gets Lei’d (SUNY Oneonta) • Talking Behind Your Back (Northeastern University) • Are You Homophobic (Salem State College) • Gael Guts: Battle of Residence Halls and Communities (Iona

College) • Leaders Who Lead, Leaders Who Do: Which One Are You?

(Roger Williams University) • Save a Dollar for Your Mama (Adelphi University) • The Amazing Husky Hunt (Northeastern University) Excellence in First-Time Programming Francis Lally—“Gael Guts: Battle of Residence Halls and Communities” (Iona College) Excellence in Programming Pin Smith Anderson—“The Amazing Husky Hunt” (Northeastern University) Most Spirited School: Ithaca College RBD Choice Awards: Outstanding Advisor: Matthew McInture & Natalie Hodge Cook (Cornell University) Outstanding NRHH Chapter: SUNY New Paltz Outstanding Student: William McCouch (Cornell University) Outstanding NCC: Bri Lewis (Ithaca College) Outstanding School: Central Connecticut University NEACURH AAFN Inductions: Avi Zacherman (SUNY New Paltz) MJ Linane (Salem State College)

Commitment to Diversity: Salem State College First Year Experience: Jessie Ostrow (SUNY New Paltz) NRHH Building Block Chapter: New York University’s Torch Chapter NRHH Member of the Year: Kari George (SUNY Geneseo) Student of the Year: Tom McGuire (New York University) Advisor of the Year: Drew Hatton (Ithaca College) Distinguished Service Award: Darren Conine (Northeastern University) NCC of the Year: Kristina Cecil (Northeastern University) School of the Year: Northeastern University Mini No-Frills 2008: SUNY Geneseo NEACURH Pride Pins: Lindsay Vrabel (Salem State College) Darren Conine (Northeastern University) Bri Lewis (Ithaca College) Rebecca Conklin (Adelphi University) Silver Pins: Avi Zacherman, current NEACURH ADAF MJ Linane, current NEACURH ADNRHH Alex Clamor, current NCC-NYU, RCC-Elect 2007-2008 Regional Board of Directors Lindsay Peck, Regional Director Garrett Abrahamson, Associate Director, Admin/Finance Ashleigh Waugh, AD National Residence Hall Honorary AbbyRuth Terreri, AD Programming/Resources Alex Clamor, Regional Communications Coordinator Brandon Graver, Regional Communications Coordinator Diana Fang, Regional Communications Coordinator Richie Kenney, Regional Communications Coordinator Ryan Durling, Regional Communications Coordinator Bri Lewis, NEACURH 2007 Conference Chair Sam Speed, Mini No-Frills 2008 Co-Chair Chris Ostrom, Mini No-Frills 2008 Co-Chair Mathew Chetnik, Regional Advisor

NEACUHO Navigator Spring Edition 2007 Page 10

ACUHO-I EASTERN DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE UPDATE

Dear NEACUHO, As an outgrowth of a Member Needs Assessment and a multiphase plan to improve communi-cations, ACUHO-I has focused a significant amount of effort recently in upgrading a number of our information sharing vehicles, both print and electronic. Talking Stick – in mid 2005, a totally revamped version of the Association’s premier publica-tion made its debut. Taking advantage of research that had been done to create a comprehen-sive communications plan, the all new Talking Stick was developed with our new branding concepts in mind. It has been very well received by members and non members alike, and re-ceived the 2006 Silver Award from the Society of National Association Publications in the “Most Improved” category for association magazines. It is full of cutting-edge information, resources you can use, models and techniques you can put to work on your campuses – some-thing for everyone, even those in special areas such as conferences and technology. If you haven’t seen a copy of the new Talking Stick, please take a look – if your institution is a mem-ber, a number of copies are sent to your campus. If you are not a member, subscriptions are available – look for information on the ACUHO-I web page. Web Page – speaking of the web page, the much anticipated unveiling of the new web site has occurred! After months of hard work and input from a wide variety of folks, the totally re-vamped site is making a big splash. What you will see when you visit www.acuho-i.org is the first of a three-stage process. The initial launch has redesigned the look and feel of the site to reflect the new ACUHO-I brand while also streamlining the site’s navigation. You’ll find sec-tions of the new site dedicated to events, communities, news, the ACUHO-I Foundation, and more. Of particular value will be the pages found under the “Resources” tab. This is the link to tools such as the online membership directory, the online bookstore, and online library. Each of these will allow access to the information – whether it is a sample docu-ment, book, article, or even the e-mail address of an ACUHO-I member – that can assist ACUHO-I members in being successful in their positions on campus. Site updates and improvements will continue to be released throughout 2007, including the second and third phases. These developments will connect ACUHO-I members like never before. Electronic communication tools such as list servs, message boards, and blogs – all linked with the membership database – will be established. Special “work areas” will be cre-ated for different committees to post messages and share documents. Finally, the new site will be utilized to deliver podcasts, webi-nars, documents, and other educational programs. Upcoming Events – Registration is now open for the Annual Conference and Exposition. This year’s event is schedule for July 7-10 in Seattle, Washington. The Annual Conference and Exposition is ACUHO-I’s largest professional development opportunity of the year. Don’t miss the chance to gain information and insight into the services, programs, products, and practices that will help you better serve your campus communities and the student constituents. Find out more information on our new web page. There are also a number of other opportunities for education, networking and fun which are coming up during 2007. You are encouraged to check out the “Events and Programs” section of the ACUHO-I website for more details about each of these events (see sidebar, left).

It is never too late to become an ACUHO-I member if you are not currently one – just go to the “Become a Member” section of the web page and you will be taken step by step through the process. I hope to see many of you at the NEACUHO Annual Conference in June. If I can provide any information about the items I mentioned above or on any ACUHO-I related issue, please feel free to contact me at 610-436-3307 or at pgalloway@wcupa.edu.

Peter Galloway ACUHO-I Eastern District

Representative pgalloway@wcupa.edu

Upcoming ACUHO-I Events • James C. Grimm National Housing Training Institute – June 12-16, Univer-

sity of Maryland College Park • Standards Institute – July 6-7, Seattle, Washington • Learning Communities

• Apartments – October 3-5, St. Augustine, Florida • Housing Facilities – October 13-15, St. Louis, Missouri • Living Learning Programs – October 15-17, St. Louis, Missouri • Conference Services – October 20-23, Virginia Beach, Virginia • Information Technology – October 29-31, St. Louis, Missouri • Housing Marketing Strategies – October 29-31, St. Louis, Missouri

NEACUHO Navigator Spring Edition 2007 Page 11

President Terri Panepento St. John Fisher College tpanepento@sjfc.edu President-Elect Sabrina Tanbara The Juilliard School stanbara@juilliard.edu

DISTRICT COORDINATORS

Connecticut & Rhode Island Michelle Eichengreen Roger Williams University meichengreen@rwu.edu Eastern New York Amanda Dubois New York University ajd262@nyu.edu Maine, New Hampshire & Vermont Katie Orlando Chester College of New England korlando@chestercollege.edu

Massachusetts Josh Hettrick Springfield College Joshua_H_Hettrick@spfldcol.edu Western New York Chuck Lamb Rochester Institute of Technology chlrla@rit.edu

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Annual Conference Dennis Proulx Castleton State College Dennis.proulx@castleton.edu Audrey Place University of Vermont Audrey.place@uvm.edu

Corporate Relations Renè J. Coderre Binghamton University rcoderre@binghamton.edu Media and Publications Tina Tormey Cazenovia College cvtormey@cazenovia.edu Membership Coordinator Jen Hapgood Binghamton University jhapgood@binghamton.edu New Professional Development Jana Jacobson Emerson College jana_jacobson@emerson.edu Parliamentarian Paula Randazza Rivier College prandazza@rivier.edu

Professional Development Pam Peter Syracuse University papeter@syr.edu Program Shelly Kenniston Bridgewater State University slkenniston@bridgew.edu Residential Operations Jen Paulin Bridgewater State University jpaulin@bridgew.edu Risk Management & Judicial Jessica Lang Bridgewater State University jlang@bridgew.edu Social Issues Jodi Bailey New York University jb2676@nyu.edu Technology Coordinator Chris Cullinane Binghamton University ccullin@binghamton.edu

APPOINTED BOARD MEMBERS

Past President Jon Conlogue Westfield State College jconlogue@wsc.ma.edu Treasurer Jeff Horowitz Binghamton University jhorowi@binghamton.edu

ELECTED OFFICERS

Secretary Carol Sacchetti Roger Williams University csacchetti@rwu.edu

ACUHO-I Eastern District Representative

Peter Galloway West Chester University

pgalloway@wcupa.edu

NEACUHO 2006-2007 EXECUTIVE BOARD

Got ideas?

Considering submitting an article for the

NEACUHO Navigator? 2007-2008 publication dates

and deadlines will be announced in the Summer Edition of the Navigator, which will be out in July!

Stay tuned for more

information!

NEACUHO Mission Statement NEACUHO is an organization of housing, residential life, and student services professionals and paraprofessionals within

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the Canadian provinces. The

Association is dedicated to providing opportunities for colleague support, professional development, sharing of information,

collaboration, communication, research and recognition of outstanding contributions to the field.

Corporate Partners

Foliot Furniture Savoy

Shrader & Shrader StudentAffairs.com University Loft Co.

Corporate Associates

ASI Campus Laundry Solutions

Thank you to the following corporate affiliates.

NEACUHO Navigator Spring Edition 2007 Page 13

Annual Conference, June 6-9

Castleton State College, Castleton VT