Professional Staff
The Office of Housing & Student Life employs five professional staff members including the Executive Director of Student Services/Director of Housing & Residence Life and three Area Coordinators. Area Coordinators are responsible for a group of residential facilities as well as specific duties related to the central office. The AC’s home is located in the residence hall he/she is coordinating and supporting the Residence Life staff. AC’s have earned at least an undergraduate degree, and are specially trained in counseling, communication, problem solving, First Aid/CPR, fire safety, and other areas important to facilitating life in a residence hall.
Graduate Assistants
Graduate Assistants are employed to assist in facility management as well as various aspects of office responsibility. Graduate Assistant positions currently include the GA for Wellness Center and Intramurals, GA for Student Conduct, and GA for Recruiting through Social Media. Each GA is responsible for management of a residential facility, on call responsibilities
Job Description for Graduate Assistant positions
Hall Directors
Student Hall Directors are responsible for the daily management of residence halls that do not house Area Coordinators, and report to a specific Area Coordinator. These student staff are typically juniors or seniors, and have prior experience as Residence Life staff.
Job Description for Hall Directors
Resident Assistants
Every residence hall has a staff of Resident Assistants. These upper-class students live on each floor as representatives of the Residence Life staff. The RA’s are skilled para-professionals who have been trained in many areas to make the student’s experience in the residence hall healthy, safe, fun, educational and memorable.
Job Description for Resident Assistants
Student Life Training, Philosophy and Programming
Other than training for specific job requirements (such as first aid/CPR, conflict resolution, fire safety, etc.), your Residence Life staff participates in training to enhance their communication and helping skills. The Residence Life staff’s primary function is to act as a resource of information and to aid residents with questions or in times of crisis. If you are having difficulties in any areas, your Resident Assistant, Hall Director, Area Coordinator, or the Executive Director are available to help you find the solution or to find the person who can most help you with the problem.
The RA Selection process is approximately a month long process of interviews, group discussions, and information sessions to aid us in finding staff members who will meet the goals of our department. If you have interest in becoming a member of the Residence Life staff, we encourage you to ask questions and discuss your interest with any member of the current staff.
Staff Duty Hours
Residence Life Staff, including one central staff member (Executive Director, Area Coordinator, Graduate Assistant or Hall Director) who covers the entire campus and one or more RA’s working in each building, are on active duty from 7:00pm until 12:00 midnight daily. Professional staff duty responsibilities include coordination and support for the RA staff. This is done, in part, by completing nightly campus-wide walking tours. The RA on duty is available to answer questions, maintain building safety and oversee other services. To ensure student safety, the RA on duty also makes specific building rounds of the residence hall and is required to sleep/remain in the facility throughout the night in case of an emergency. All on-duty Residence Life staff members are in direct communication with other members of Residence Life staff and with Campus Police.
