The ACUHO-I Heroes program announced its first round of heroes in October. This initiative was started so that the hard work of campus housing professionals, especially in these challenging days of the pandemic, racial injustice, and natural disasters, does not go unnoticed. Do you know someone who goes above and beyond to ensure the health and safety of others and who advocates for others in their campus community? Nominate them here.
Heroes announced in October 2020 are as follows:
One of the silver linings of such an unexpected year is that, in some ways, we can adjust programs and tailor them to the feedback we’ve heard. In terms of the Campus Housing Index, there are several changes, both immediate and ongoing, that are beneficial to campus housing professionals while still providing robust data collection and benchmarking insights so critical to understanding our campus housing departments.
Below are a few need-to-knows about this data collection season.
It is hoped that these changes will provide campuses with a more manageable data collection process and will help in the critical work of benchmarking and telling the story of campus housing. Any questions about this process or CHI accounts specifically should be emailed to chi@acuho-i.org.
Responding to the perpetual incidents of racism and anti-Blackness, police brutality, and racially motivated violence across the United States and around the world, ACUHO-I President Von Stange assembled the Anti-Racism Task Force this summer. The 12-member committee, comprising professionals from the United States and Canada, is charged with examining how campus housing and residence life professionals can contribute to the disruption, if not the dismantling, of the individual biases and systemic oppression that exist on college and university campuses and in the profession at large.
The task force has been meeting regularly since August and has identified four distinct working sub-groups that will discuss, research, and produce tangible deliverables for the Association in the coming months:
Gathering Information: Curating data through all-member straw polls to get a sense of how the membership and their respective offices are doing, feeling, and responding during this critical moment of time for racial justice.
Analyzing Straw Poll Data: Assessing results produced by Association polls and determining the content and timeline for administration of future polls to support the task force’s charge.
Examining the History of the Association: Examining ACUHO-I’s history to determine when race became a topic of priority for the Association, how the Association has evolved in its understanding and addressed the topic of race, what educational opportunities have been offered about race through ACUHO-I programs, and where there are opportunities for the Association to further demonstrate its commitment to racial justice.
Evaluating Professional Standards and Core Competencies: Reviewing the Association’s foundational documents (Professional Standards, Body of Knowledge, and Core Competencies) and identifying gaps where inclusion and equity practices and measures can be more concretely incorporated, implemented, and assessed.
The work of the task force is expected to extend through the end of 2020, with a report of recommendations submitted to the ACUHO-I Executive Board in the first quarter of 2021.
As this year comes to a close, we would like to thank these outgoing Executive Board members not only for their service, but for their support through a challenging year. Von Stange, ACUHO-I President, James Bridgeforth, Facilities and Physical Environment Director, Michael Griffel, Finance and Corporate Records Officer, Kirsten Kennedy, Knowledge Enhancement Director, and Olan Garrett, Business Practices and Enhancements Director, helped guide the Association through long days, stood by and held up the members of the profession, and gave us all assurance that we will keep on moving forward together. We thank them for the kindness and grace they showed. We are also fortunate that Kennedy and Garrett are filling new positions on the ACUHO-I Foundation and Executive Boards, respectively, starting in 2021. Kennedy will serve on the Foundation as the Corporate Records and Finance Officer, and Garrett will serve on the Executive Board as the Finance and Corporate Records Officer.
Help the Association recognize and celebrate those professionals who make a difference on campus, move the profession forward, and strive to make student lives better. You can nominate a colleague, or yourself, here. The final date to submit a nomination is November 19, 2020.
In response to members being furloughed or facing layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACUHO-I Foundation launched its Bridge Membership Program in October 2020. The Foundation wanted to find a way to keep members connected to ACUHO-I resources and the profession even if they were disconnected from their institution. And they have already built their first bridge. Individuals meeting the criteria for this program will pay $35 for one year of membership benefits (typically $194 for U.S. individuals), with the ACUHO-I Foundation covering the balance of the dues. If you have been separated from your employment at an institution due to the pandemic, you are eligible to apply for this program and to continue to receive ACUHO-I membership benefits at this highly discounted rate. Apply today.
