Billy Blount 

Staff Q & A

Hometown: Water Valley, Mississippi

Title: Director for Administrative Services, University Housing

Years of Service: 9.5 years

Education: BS, Mississippi State University – MS, Mississippi State University

How long have you been at the University of Arkansas in Student Affairs? What have you enjoyed most about your time here?

I have worked at the U of A for 9 ½ years. The thing I have enjoyed the most is working again at a “first-choice” institution. I love seeing students walking around proud to be Razorbacks, going to athletic events, wearing their Razorback clothing everywhere. Seeing the pride our students have in our school is my favorite part of working here. We also have an amazing group of people to work with who make coming to work every day!

Tell us a little about your role in Student Affairs. What brings you joy in this role?

My role in the housing office is unique. My area works with contracting, assignments, housing office front desk operations, summer conferences, Greek houses, move-in/move-out logistics, residence hall front desks, marketing, strategic communications, parent communications, emergency management and alumni communication. It is a very wide variety of areas, but this is what keeps it fun as each day is something new.

What is the greatest misconception people have about Student Affairs and how do you break that?

I think the biggest misconception is you must work at large school to get great experiences. Sometimes the smaller the school the more opportunities you get to do things because there are less people. For example, at my previous school I was helping to craft a multi-million dollar budget for an auxiliary unit in my second year as a professional. For those who supervise, encourage the professionals you have to research and learn about smaller institutions and opportunities when they are ready for the next professional step. My time and experiences at two mid-sized institutions prior to the University of Arkansas prepared me very well for this position.

What do you like to do with your time outside of the University?

I love to coach my kids’ sports teams. My co-workers will tell you I will “light-up” when I get to talk about it. I absolutely love coaching my son’s football and basketball teams now and I had the opportunity to coach my daughters’ basketball and volleyball teams when she was younger. Investing time with my kids is very important to me.

What do you hope students and colleagues will remember about your interactions?

I hope staff know I put everything I had into doing the best job possible and for our students doing anything I can to teach them life skills that will carry on when they have their own family and job one day.

Is there anything else you would like to add or let our readers know?

We are all imperfect people who do imperfect things every day. As Adrian Smith, so eloquently said in the Diversity ilearn in September, “learn to give people grace and understanding as we all will need it one day also.”