Recently, my University perspectives students have been coming in for informal chats about how their semester is going. There are so many positive stories about the support services offered through CEA, UA Cares, VMASC, and the Pat Walker Health Center, and how they have found community within their residence halls, through club and intramural teams, in their classes, through events at the MC, and within their Greek chapters. Greek Life completed both Panhellenic and IFC recruitment over the last two months. Panhellenic recruitment offered 1,932 bids and IFC recruitment offered 715 bids. NPHC hosted a standing room only Interest Tea for students interested in participating in intake. They also received local news attention for their tailgates that help create a sense of belonging.
As you have read in previous issues of the Bulletin the Division has been hard at work on immediate and future planning. We had great discussions last week with Huron Consulting Group, flushing out potential division priorities and objectives for our strategic plan. As of September 25th, the 3 draft priorities are: 1) Student Access, Well-Being, and Belonging, 2) Post-Graduation Success, and 3) Building a Strong Organizational Culture. The energy and excitement demonstrated by our staff through their engagement in this project energizes me as we move into the next phase: development of the strategic plan.
Even as we plan for the future, we keep an eye on the past. The Arkansas Union turns 50 this year, and we recently celebrated the anniversary with an event that mirrored the grand opening celebration back in 1973. The Union is the heart of campus, sometimes known as the campus Living Room, and it has been serving students for a half century. On September 20th there was a big 70s themed party in the Union to mark the anniversary. We have the story and photos for you here.
In our Q&As this issue we hear from two people who work in the Arkansas Union. Tim Wages is the building facilities supervisor for the Arkansas Union and has been here for more than 15 years. He takes great pride in helping keep the Union open, running, and being a welcoming space to all who enter. Hunter Fountain is a junior majoring in computer engineering and a student staff member. Hunter helps take care of the IT needs in the Arkansas Union and is on track to graduate in Fall 2024.
In the spirit of collaboration and creativity our Student Affairs communications team worked with the Division of Economic Development, the School of Art and the FORMAT Festival to help create an art installation outside of the East entrance of Old Main. The Inside Out Project is a worldwide art movement by French artist JR and it features portraits of lots of different people. Each installation is unique and uses photos captured specifically for that piece. The installation at Old Main featured photos of students, faculty and staff taken by our communications team, who also documented the art install and final project with drone footage.
I am very proud of the commitment and enthusiasm our staff have shone over this past month as we’ve welcomed our second largest freshman class and largest overall enrollment. We look forward to celebrating all our staff the second week of October during Staff Appreciation Week.
Thank you for reading the October 2023 issue of the Student Affairs Bulletin. If you would like more information on anything you see here, please email Scott Flanagin, executive director of communications at sflanagi@uark.edu.