I am a well-rounded student affairs professional with twenty years of professional experience. Currently, I serve as the Campus and Conference Centers Director at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). Every day I am inspired by an interaction with a student, by my staff’s ability to work toward the success of the institution’s goals, and by the facilities on campus.
Student inspiration is all around at IIT. During a recent conversation, our Student Government Association (SGA) President, Elnaz, relayed an idea to me from SGA’s Vote Box. She told me that a student, Piyush, posted an idea about using the campus recreation center space in the pub (the Bog) as a place for commuters during the day. He reasoned that since the Bog was only operational at night and commuters needed a space during the day, why not make the space available? “Brilliant! Let’s do it,” I said to Elnaz. Beginning February 9 of this year, the five-year anniversary of re-opening the Bog, we will partner with SGA to create a space for commuter students.
I am pleased at what we accomplish together, as a staff, for students. At a strategic planning session at our last staff meeting, for example, we tackled a tough issue: Resources and the Value Proposition. During the discussion, the campus centers staff wrestled with tough budget issues in an even tougher institutional economy. Leading my staff through the session, we developed a strong understanding of the issues, what our value is to students and to campus, and measurable objectives that would help us not only reduce costs, but to add value for students. All this is while we are walking on the unstable ground of organizational change.
The facilities work in harmony with the overall program of the campus and conference centers. On my rounds last week, I bumped into IIT’s VP of Institutional Advancement. Betsy said to me, “Can we get the donor’s names on the paper signage in the room number frames?” I told her, “Of course. We will have it done today. That’s an easy fix.” Betsy continued, sounding a little apologetic for her feedback, “I don’t mean to be so picky....” The last thing I wanted Betsy to feel was as though she was being too detailed. No improvement is too small. I said that she should indeed be picky, and that I appreciated her eyes on the facility. By the next day, I followed up with an email thanking her for her input. I attached the photo of the revised sign with the donors’ names in place, and asked her to share her thoughts about the MTCC anytime. It takes everyone’s input for us to fully realize a facility’s potential contribution to a student’s learning, to the campus community, and to a donor’s pride in the institution.
Skilled and passionate about what I do, it has become who I am. I expertly balance the many functions in my campus role. With strengths in programming and operations, I successfully manage world-famous facilities, develop measures and evaluations that drive program improvement, and earnestly care about students, staff, and community I serve.
