I
am typing this as I head back to my Oklahoma State campus from New Orleans. Let me tell you, my brain is filled with conflicting thoughts. On the one hand, I continue to wrestle with the somber news of the shooting that occurred at Michigan State University and the knowledge of what our housing colleagues will be facing in the coming weeks and months. On the other hand, I have been exhilarated by two days of Executive Board and Foundation Board meetings, as well as the 2023 State of the Profession event. Such is the balancing act that we all as housing professionals must face. We need to be prepared for what each day may bring us, no matter how unthinkable it may be, while also keeping an eye on the horizon and imagining what better days could await us.
Fortunately, we were able to meet in person this year to hear from a collection of outside experts, volunteer leaders, and senior housing officers to help expand our thinking. The 2020 State of the Profession, also in New Orleans, was our last face-to-face event before the pandemic began. I’m sure the word COVID was mentioned in some hallway conversation back then, but once again, we had no idea what the immediate future held. In many ways, now knowing what we didn’t know then serves as an apt reminder of the task at hand, the value of forward thinking, and the need for strategic planning. This mindset proves useful as the Board sets the Association’s strategic priorities for the year. Past outcomes have included our focus on resources for smaller colleges and universities, improving student mental health, and establishing diversity and equity initiatives. And this year it will prove even more valuable as it kick-starts our next ACUHO-I Strategic Plan, a process that will be led by ACUHO-I President-Elect Gay Perez.
Just as they are on your campuses, the strategic plan will be our compass for allocating resources, reframing research, and refining our events.
Just as they are on your campuses, the strategic plan will be our compass for allocating resources, reframing research, and refining our events. Sure, there are those bedrock operations that are entrenched both on campus and within ACUHO-I, but when the time comes to make a new decision or chart a new course, the strategic plan is there to help determine the way it should go. While strategic planning (or, from a facilities point of view, master planning) is often considered the realm of senior housing officers, I don’t believe limiting it that way is a healthy approach. Everyone in a department, regardless of their title or length of service, should know what those plans hold. This understanding spurs creative thought and encourages planful decision-making supported by data and not rash reactions spurred by emotion.
Transparency is key. The same is true within ACUHO-I. Whether it happens through public messages like this column or one-on-one conversations with the committee and network chairs or other members, I want everyone to know about and be engaged with the work being done by ACUHO-I. We are here to provide educational opportunities, knowledge resources, and steadfast advocacy that will help you as an individual be a more substantial professional and make your campus a more vital home for its students. In the coming weeks, you will see the latest report from the Future of Campus Housing task force, built through the input of dozens of your housing colleagues. I am sure you will be impressed by the work that they have accomplished and invigorated about what is to come.
As we continue into 2023, I encourage you all to take a moment to think of the victims of the senseless violence that recently has occurred at Michigan State, the University of Virginia, and far too many other campuses. Also, consider our housing and student affairs colleagues and co-workers all around the world. We must be encouraged and strengthened that our work can make a difference at a time, perhaps, when it has been most necessary.
— Leon McClinton, ACUHO-I President
Talking Stick magazine takes its name from the symbol of international friendship presented to ACUHO-I in 1973 by the Ohiat Band of the British Columbia Indian Nation. The talking stick, or speaker’s staff, is hand-carved, and the inscription explains, “It is a sign of authority carried when proclamations are to be made or a meeting of chiefs is in session. It is a token of common heritage both to Canadians and Americans.”
