Talking Stick - July/August 2015 - 68

SNAPSHOT

STEPHEN K. HARRISON
What's the biggest issue you see facing the profession right now?
Related to cost, our campuses are straining under the weight of
administrative bloat, shifting demographics that impact enrollment, and
maintaining a physical plant of quality while funding sources of all kinds are
drying up. More than ever, housing and other auxiliaries are being looked
upon by our campus partners to share the burden perceived as unique to
them. We have to tell our story and use our incredibly broad experience
and expertise to come up with proactive solutions rather than waiting to be
handed them.

What is your favorite move-in story?

STEPHEN K. HARRISON is
the director of university
housing at Coastal Carolina
University in Conway, South
Carolina.
What are the most unusual
housing or amenity requests
you have received?
We now own and operate a
46-building, 2,079-bedroom
apartment community. As is
true of most development in
the southeastern United States,
huge water-retention ponds were
required adjacent to the buildings;
the largest of these is located
centrally, and nearly 20 buildings
encircle this fairly non-descript
body of water. Every year during
our returning student room
selection event, the most common
question I'm aware of after "How
close is this apartment to food?"
is "Does my room have a pond
view?"

68

TALKING STICK

Of course it is always entertaining to watch families pull up in moving
trucks, with a herd of family pets, or a line of lone drivers each with a sport
utility vehicle chock-full of color coordinated items their student "needs"
for the first year away from home. My favorite moment, however, always
involves the hundreds of student volunteers who come out to assist their
peers with move-in. They do far more than lift boxes and TVs; they lift spirits
and confidence. Two years ago I had a mother cry at me - not with me or in
front of me - but at me because our volunteers had emptied the two family
vehicles and moved her student into her third floor apartment in one trip,
which robbed her of the experience of move-in. After a little comforting and
reframing, she got very excited that the rest of the day could be spent taking
care of details on campus, setting up the room, getting to know roommates
and their families - and having one more run at shopping for anything her
student might need. What a reminder that these emotional and exciting
days feel unique to every student and to every family.

What is the most challenging part of your work?
It is incredibly disheartening to see a student who is doing all the right
things relative to behavior - challenging herself or himself academically,
taking on leadership roles, and generally trying to do what has been
asked of them - to have to make the painful decision not to continue their
education, even for a short time, for financial reasons.

What do you think will be the most significant change in student
housing in the next five years?
I hear from colleagues across the country that conversations about
educating the 21st century learner are getting louder and louder on their
campuses. I also see policy makers and pundits screaming out for cost
controls and demonstrated connections between learning and avocation,
which will be tied together in new funding models. I think housing can
lead the way by going back to our core work of supporting student learning
and demonstrating how the residential experience can help students
make meaning of what they are learning in the classroom and hone the
skills necessary for being successful in an ever more collaborative working
environment. I haven't exactly figured out how just yet, but I'm enjoying
being a part of the conversation with many, many smart people.
Talking Stick - July/August 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - July/August 2015
