Becoming a member of the ACUHO-I Foundation Parthenon Society is recognition of a career filled with professional accomplishment, selfless contributions, and collegial respect. Last month, during the ACUHO-I Annual Conference, five new names were added to the Parthenon roster. Through a series of videos hosted by Shannon Staten, the ACUHO-I Foundation chair, the society welcomed Mary Howard-Hamilton, Leonard Jones, Rosanne Proite, Alma Sealine, and Lee Thompson, Jr.
Mary Howard-Hamilton, currently chair of the Department of Educational Leadership at Indiana State University, is known not only for her contributions as a scholar, but also for how she shares her knowledge. As an avid researcher and passionate educator, she leads discussions in lectures and presentations with her head and her heart. Beyond the classroom, Howard-Hamilton received the ACUHO-I S. Earl Thompson award in 2000 and served as the Knowledge Enhancement Director on ACUHO-I’s Executive Board from 2011 to 2014 and as an ACUHO-I Scholar-in-Residence in 1998 and 2010.
Patty Martinez, assistant vice president for student affairs and director of operations at The University of Alabama-Birmingham, as well as a past ACUHO-I president, notes, “Her edgy, empathic, innovative inquiry into the study of higher education has enhanced our field with professional educators and learners.” Martinez also highlights the geographical reach of Howard-Hamilton’s motivation to teach, noting that she served as a faculty member for the 2011 South African Student Housing Training Institute hosted by the University of Stellenbosch. “Mary’s commitment remains as she annually organizes travel with Indiana State University master’s and doctoral students to South Africa, enriching the lives of her students with knowledge of the higher education landscape outside the U.S.”
Howard-Hamilton’s research covers an extensive variety of topics such as identity development, intersectionality, multiculturalism, and student leadership. As Brian McGowan, associate professor of education at American University, clarifies, “In particular, her contributions to the multiculturalism literature are evident, and she regularly writes on pertinent issues about African American students in higher education. Consistent with her scholarly commitments to Afrocentrism and critical race theory, a hallmark of Dr. Howard-Hamilton’s success has been her mentoring of scholars of color.”
Leonard Jones, director of university residences at Western Washington University, has been an inspirational and motivating force for the duration of his more than 30 years in housing and residence life. From mentoring new professionals across the country to supporting his peers across campus, Jones offers his wisdom, empathy, and integrity to help others rise. “Leonard’s most admirable traits are his helpful attitude, his warm and caring demeanor, and his collaborative leadership style,” says one of his nominating champions. “Leonard embraces diversity and helps to create inclusive and welcoming communities.”
Singling out some of his most recent contributions to his campus, Melynda Huskey, vice president for enrollment and student services at Western Washington, notes how “Facing fiscal, personnel, public health, and facilities management issues on a scale we could scarcely have imagined, Leonard has been relentlessly positive and creative in finding solutions – and has provided encouragement, collaboration, and support for colleagues while doing so. And if that weren’t enough, Leonard has also been a source of leadership, wisdom, and expertise through the second public health crisis that has troubled our nation – the reckoning with racism in our institutions. Drawing on his own experience at several institutions across the nation, Leonard has helped our predominantly white institution think more deeply about what transformations we must undergo to meet the needs of all our students, and our staff, as we grapple with a long-standing legacy of inequity.”
Jones served as GLACUHO president-elect, president, and past president from 1995 to 1997. He is a long-time advocate for historically Black colleges and universities and helped champion ACUHO-I’s work with these institutions as well. “Leonard is an extraordinary colleague, for whom I have the greatest respect – not simply for his consummate professionalism and wide-ranging expertise in the complex realms of dining, housing, and residence life, but for his integrity, empathy, dedication, and deep commitment to students,” Huskey says.
Rosanne Proite has led an exemplary professional career for more than four decades, leaving her imprint on numerous housing programs across the United States. At each of these stops, including the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Kansas State University, and, most recently, Texas State University, where she is director of housing and residential life, she has advocated for innovative programming, contemporary residence hall design and construction, and the continued development of her colleagues.
One of Proite’s nominating champions noted how, during the early 1990s, she was creating “progressive and cutting-edge” programming that addressed body image, eating disorders, and homophobia before such issues would become more commonplace. The same champion remembered how, when Proite was recruiting her to work at Kansas State, she pointed her “to the foundational books on community development, and after I had read them I said to her, ‘The K-State residence halls are textbook perfect examples of the communities described in these books.’ Rosanne smiled and nodded knowingly and hopefully took deserved pride in what her leadership had helped to create.”
Proite’s legacy in campus housing will stand – quite literally – after she retires due to the number of new construction and renovation projects she has overseen throughout her career. Margarita Arellano, the associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students for Texas State, notes how Proite “has remodeled existing residence halls that were in great need of repairs” and that “the quality of our residence halls at our institution has improved dramatically since her arrival” and she was “very strategic at not increasing the room/board rates dramatically.”
Through her accomplished career, primarily in roles at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she is the executive director of university housing, Alma Sealine has solidified herself as a professional noted for her vibrance, support, and leadership, as well as her giving nature. Her contributions include serving as the ACUHO-I president and chair of the ACUHO-I Foundation Board, and GLACUHO president. Among her awards are the GLACUHO Service Award and the ACUHO-I James C. Grimm Leadership and Service Award.
As one champion wrote, Sealine “is driven by a desire to serve both students and her profession, and to make a difference. With leadership and compassion, she has created a home away from home for students, mentored young professionals, guided and coached staff, inspired and educated colleagues, and left her mark on an entire profession.” Sealine has added to the profession’s body of knowledge through numerous conference presentations, contributions to publications, and serving as faculty for the National Housing Training Institute. She also helped expand ACUHO-I’s global reach as part of the ACUHO-I Global Summit and was a faculty member for the South African Housing Training Institute at Stellenbosch University in 2012.
In her nominating letter, one of Sealine’s champions paid the highest compliment when she wrote, “When I find myself dealing with a dilemma in my work, I often find myself asking ‘what would Alma do?’” And, she notes, “As a director, leader, and mentor, I and many other professionals had the privilege of learning from her. In staff meetings, divisional retreats, and one-on-ones, Alma provided an outstanding template as a leader. Her honesty and thoughtfulness was evident in her approach and collaboration. She allowed me to grow, take risks, earn recognition, and advance as a professional. I will be forever thankful to call her my supervisor, my mentor, and my friend.”
With the induction of Lee Thompson, Jr., the vice president of sales and business development for Southwest Contract, the Thompson family becomes the first one to have two members in the Parthenon Society. Continuing the family legacy, Lee Jr. (as he is affectionately known by most everyone in campus housing) has made a name for himself by being, as one of his champions describes him, “the epitome of what a corporate partner to college student housing should be.” Thompson has “served many institutions with high-quality furniture and even higher quality customer service. He is keenly aware of the needs and desires of his institutional clients and, most importantly, their students. . . . He ‘gets it’ that there is incredible value in the college residential experience!”
Thompson’s contributions have been recognized throughout the campus housing profession. He has received numerous awards at the regional and international level. He served six years as a member of the ACUHO-I Foundation Board, has been a mainstay of innumerable ACUHO-I events, and with Southwest Contract has been a dedicated supporter of many ACUHO-I events and initiatives, not the least of which has been contributions to the James C. Grimm National Housing Training Institute.
Thompson routinely goes above and beyond the expectations of a typical conference exhibitor. As another champion remembered his first interaction with Thompson, “Upon being introduced to him, I was immediately drawn to his genuine, caring, and kind personality. Even as a new professional with no high-level decision-making authority, he instantly made me feel welcomed and wanted to hear what I had to say. Regardless if one uses the products of Southwest Contract or not, those who know Lee recognize his ability to make anyone feel comfortable, important, and appreciated. Whether you are a new professional or university president, Lee treats everyone with the same respect and kindness.”
