Talking Stick - May/June 2013 - 56

Conversations

Do Degrees Matter?
Members talk about what a doctorate means to the career of a
housing professional.

COLIn
MARSHALL

Participating in this conversation are Rosanne Proite, director of housing and
residential life at Texas State University in San Marcos; Jason Amezcua, assistant
director of housing and residential life at Saint Louis University in Missouri; Doug
Hallenbeck, executive director of housing at Clemson University in South Carolina;
April Hicks Konvalinka, associate director for facilities at Arkansas State University
in Jonesboro; Virginia Koch, associate director of residential services at Northwestern
University in Evanston, Illinois; and Colin Marshall, director of campus life at
University of Ballarat in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.

Rosanne Proite: Let’s start with question
number 1 . . . is the Ph.D./Ed.D. necessary to
become a director?

APRIL HICKS
KOnVALInKA

DOUG
HALLEnBECK

Jason Amezcua: Generally speaking, I
believe that a solid combination of education
and experience is required for most director
positions; however, that doesn’t necessarily
mean that a solid candidate must have a
terminal degree. In terms of an unwritten
rule, there seems to be an understanding that
the further you move along in your career,
the more you should also want to supplement
your work history with substantive educational
experiences. Thus, an aspiring director might
see a terminal degree as the most legitimate
and complete of those experiences.
Proite: I agree with Jason. I have a Ph.D. in
higher education. I got mine in 1990 when
there were few Ph.D.s and even fewer women
who were in director positions. I had always
known I wanted to complete the work, but in
the back of my mind I also knew that I would
need it to make my career path to a director
position more credible in the eyes of those men
who were doing the hiring (not to sound too
cynical, though).
Doug Hallenbeck: I have a Ph.D. in student
personnel administration (2002). By no means

56

Talking STick

do I think you have to have a Ph.D. to be a
director. However, it does open doors with
faculty. Whether we like it or not, having a
terminal degree is meaningful and a source
of status on a college campus, so you have
a bit more credibility in some circles just
because you have it. The reality is that it was
my experience as an assistant director that
prepared me for the day-to-day work of the
director position, but it was the Ph.D. work
that prepared me for the political and academic
aspects of being a director.

April Hicks Konvalinka: I am presently
seeking my doctorate in educational leadership
(Ed.D.) and plan to be finished this summer. I
took this venture first because it would
open many doors of opportunity for me
professionally, but secondly it seemed there
was an unspoken rule that if you aspire to be
a director of housing and residence life that it
was preferred you have your doctorate. If you
look at job postings for director positions today,
many postings are stating that a doctorate is
preferred. I think this trend has been evolving
over the past 10 to 15 years. I agree with Doug;
experience does play a significant part in future
career paths, but the “unspoken doctorate” is
trending in our profession as higher education
is leaning more towards a business model.
Doug said it well that there is more credibility
in some circles.
Talking Stick - May/June 2013

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