Staff Appreciation Week occurred in the month of October and we enjoyed celebrating our staff during breakfast and at one of our quarterly All-Calls. I continue to witness and hear about the individual ways our staff help students get through their day to day, strive toward academic and personal success, find and feel a sense of safety and home, and have signature moments that will turn into lifelong memories. Our division coordinated one of those signature moments recently – student camping for the men’s exhibition basketball game against Kansas!
Our first story about a project supported by the Innovation Fund, which are private gifts used to help departments fund innovative programs, is very timely since it is election season. The Democracy Fellows program through the Center for Community Engagement got started last spring, but the program received funding from our Innovation Fund and their work took off this fall. Students in the program provide dedicated outlets via events, workshops, and other opportunities for fellow students to learn about and discuss civic engagement topics they are curious or passionate about in productive ways. This helps helps increase student’s knowledge of topics such as freedom of speech, voting options and more.
Veterans Day also occurs this month. In our department highlight we learn about the Veteran and Military-Affiliated Student Center. This department serves as the central point of contact for prospective or current University of Arkansas military-affiliated students needing assistance with the admissions process, applying for military educational benefits and scholarships, and referrals to various academic departments around campus. They have a number of signature programs that help student veterans and students whose families have military affiliations.
Our staff Q&A features Linda Burton, a school certifying official for the Veteran and Military-Affiliated Student Center. In her role, Burton works to help certify enrollment of eligible veterans, reservists, service members and their dependents. Burton said she enjoys helping families navigate the benefit certification process so they can achieve their educational goals.
As Student Affairs professionals we hold affiliations and memberships with professional organizations, including Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, known as NASPA. The NASPA IV-West Regional Conference was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Oct. 21-23. Three of our staff members were honored with awards at the conference. AnReckez Daniels, associate director of the Multicultural Center, was recognized with the regional Innovative Program Award. Adrain Smith, director of the Multicultural Center, received the regional Social Justice and Inclusion Award. Trisha Blau, associate director for programming for Student Involvement and Leadership, received the regional Outstanding Mid-Level Professional Award. Congratulations to these excellent staff members on their awards.
I would love to hear from you! If you have questions about the stories you have read here, or if you have ideas for stories you would like to see in this space, please email me at jbattje@uark.edu or give me a call at 479-575-5007.