Talking Stick - May/June 2009 - 6

vision Professional Engagement Starts with You This will be the last opportunity I have as ACUHO-I president to provide a Vision article. With it, I want you to consider when the last time was that you engaged your profession. I don’t mean the last time you went to work or even the last time you went above and beyond the call of duty. But when was the last time you truly engaged the profession by giving something of yourself or your expertise back to the college and university housing profession as a whole? In the last year I have repeatedly stressed the concept of professional engagement. It is easy to identify the benefits that members receive: a magazine to read, a contact to make, a conference presentation to attend, or a piece of information to acquire and implement. But let’s take all those benefits one step backwards. The magazine story, the phone call, the conference session, the book, and all those other resources exist because some volunteer decided to share of him or herself. It happened because someone was willing to professionally engage. In today’s world, the means of professional engagement are opening wider and wider, and ACUHO-I is working hard to expand and develop with them. It is no secret that much of today’s engagement happens online. That is why ACUHO-I has invested time, money, and resources in new features such as digital versions of its publications, the Talking Stick and the Journal of College and University Student Housing, and making them free to every individual (that means faculty, staff, administrators, and even students) at a member institution. when was the last tIMe you truly engaged the ProfessIon by gIVIng soMethIng of yourself or your exPertIse back to the college and unIVersIty housIng ProfessIon as a wh0le? We have created an online professional network (www.acuho-i.net), a news blog (blog.acuho-i.org), and new listserv capabilities. These are excellent tools that will help members share and create knowledge – but, remember, all the technology in the world is useless unless people help feed the online conversation. Finally, this year will show an improved online library and online meeting capabilities. Again, these are valuable ways to find resources or facilitate conversations, but it is up to the membership to feed those repositories with model documents, research, best practices, and more. ACUHO-I, as an entity, does not hold the answers to all your questions. But the odds are that the knowledge – tacit or explicit – does lie somewhere within one of ACUHO-I’s members. Our ranks are filled with trained, experienced, intelligent professionals, and through their professional engagement we will unlock the solutions that will foster continued improvement of worldwide campus housing operations. Access to this information and community is the most valuable asset ACUHO-I provides. I fully encourage you to take full advantage of it and at the same time remember that each of us has something to offer to the greater good. Help make ACUHO-I that invaluable resource. Help make ACUHO-I the place where you can find what you need and – through your contribution of knowledge, time, and effort – where you can provide what others may need. Norbert W. Dunkel ACUHO-I President Talking STick

http://www.acuho-i.net http://blog.acuho-i.org

Talking Stick - May/June 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - May/June 2009