New Hall 3D Skeleton

New Residence Hall skeleton

OK, so it may just be me, but I found the 3d image of the structure of the new residence hall just as cool as the rendering of what the hall will look like when it is complete in the Fall of 2013. The image shows what the hall will look like, as if you are looking southwest. the small item in the bottom of the image in the backup generator and dumpster area. The quarter circle on the left of the image is the patio area that will overlook the football practice fields.

So you want to be a RA?

The 2012-2013 RA Selection process kicked off in mid-November 2011 when application packets were made available. Over 170 applications were submitted by the deadline at the beginning of February 2012. In addition to new RA candidates, 65 current RAs have indicated a desire to return to the position for the following academic year. A total of over 230 applicants are being considered for the 99 available RA positions for the 2012-2013 school year. An amazing number of students interested in being a RA.

In addition to their application packet, new RA candidates participated in a Group Process activity during a Saturday in mid-February. The activities allowed our evaluators the opportunity to identify each candidate’s ability to work in a team and assist others while completing tasks together. After this activity, 105 new RA candidates were selected to move on to the individual interview portion of the selection process. This final step in this process for the new RA candidates asked each of them to schedule two 30 minute interviews that were conducted by two Hall Directors.

Our returning RA candidates followed a separate process. These candidates were asked to submit a reapplication packet to their Hall Director and sit down in a meeting with that person to talk about their current work abilities and their needs for next year. Hall Directors were then asked to submit a letter indicating whether they supported the staff member’s return or not for the following year. Additionally, the returning RA candidates were required to participate in an individual presentation to the entire Hall Director team during the first weekend in March, which was a new wrinkle in our process! This presentation asked that they provide responses to a case study that had been selected for them and answer any follow-up questions the Hall Director team had for them.

The RA selection process will culminate on March 20, 2012 when the Hall Director team will spend several hours selecting and placing all 99 of the RAs for next year. All returning and new RA candidates will be informed whether they have been hired for a position, offered an alternate pool spot, or are no longer being considered for the RA position via letter on March 21, 2012. Good luck to those of you interested in joining the Residence Life staff.

Greek Villiage Planning (first steps...)

The spring break has been a great time for a variety of reasons, however, one of my personal favorites is the first steps in our new housing master planning process has begun. We are considering partnering with Brailsford and Dunlavey for a study of the housing at Southeast, with a focus towards possible new Greek Housing. While nothing is certain, and there are countless and difficult challenges to this idea, I am pleased we are taking a serious look at this idea. 

I know there will be a rush to start talking about how each house will look, the size of chapter rooms, or how the assignment of each chapter to any new housing will be decided. I do understand the desire to move into these details; however, there are two fundamental questions we, both the University and each organization, must first address. These questions include the past and projected future size and growth of the student body and each organization. I have been part of the Southeast Greek system, both as an undergraduate and as an alumnus, and over this time I have seen multiple Greek organizations leave the Southeast campus (Phi Sigma Kappa, Phi Delta Theta, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi) while at the same time watching some organizations join or return to the Southeast Greek system (Sigma Nu, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Gamma Phi Beta, Iota Phi Theta). In addition to these changes to our Greek system, I have also seen cases where nearly every chapter in the Greek Area has witnessed their membership fluctuate such that they lost or were unable to fill their house. If we are to move forward with our planning process we must confront these kinds of issues so we can develop a Greek Housing area that allows both the University and individual chapters to respond to these kinds of changes. 

We will all have to surrender our individual Greek letters as we begin this process so we can work towards a Greek housing plan that builds the entire Greek system. Once we have this framework in place, we can then put back on our letters and begin the work to establish the specifics for chapter houses that best meet the needs of individual chapter’s and the University. I have had the opportunity to work with alumni from almost every chapter at Southeast and over this time I have enjoyed working with some of the very best Greek alumni our Greek system has produced. I look forward to our future conversations because I believe there are many of us, myself included, who are interested in working to improve our Greek system.