Talking Stick - July/August 2013 - 56

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craig allen
What’s the first thing you do when you get into the office each
morning?
Get a cup of hot tea, say hello to my colleagues in the office, and check email.

What’s the biggest issue for the students on your campus right now?
Our student government has called on the administration to improve our efforts
in diversity on campus.

What makes your campus unique?
I think our campus is unique in the sense of the pride you see everywhere on
campus. Whether it is the logo in the handrail of a stairwell or the purple used
in subtle ways around campus (and sometimes rather overtly), TCU is a place
where students, faculty, and staff love to be, and it shows.

What made you decide to work in housing? If you hadn’t chosen
housing, what would your job be?
I think working in housing resonated with me in my first week of college. After
hanging out with my RA that first weekend, I knew I wanted to do what he
did. I spent a couple of years in the restaurant business, and I did substitute
teaching before I knew that education was my calling. There were times in my
career when I thought housing would be a stepping stone to some other part
of student affairs, but now after 20 years I cannot imagine doing anything else.
However, if I did do something else or perhaps when I retire, I would love to
own a restaurant and have a bar stool that is permanently reserved just for me.

What’s your biggest challenge on campus?

CRAIG ALLEN is the
director of housing and
residence life at Texas
Christian University in
Fort Worth, Texas.
What resource can’t you
live without?
My wife. She is of course
much more than a resource,
but I have to give her this
shout-out.

My biggest challenge is handling our “good problem to have,” which is the
demand for housing that exceeds our supply. We handle it very well, and
while it is better to have hundreds of students on a waitlist than hundreds of
vacancies, students who live in a lounge or triple, their parents, or the junior
who doesn’t want to move off campus aren’t interested in hearing about our
“good problem.”

Best book you’ve been impressed by?
I am a big fan of Daniel Pink and his books A Whole New Mind and Drive. I
think the principles are transformative, and I regularly try to find ways to apply
them to my work.

Name the individuals who made the greatest impact on your career.
There are many individuals who have impacted my career: Lynn Riker, who
hired me at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, and really
helped me grow as a mid-level professional; Laura Wankel, who gave me a
chance to be a CHO and supported me through tough times at Seton Hall; and
Don Mills, who brought me to TCU and allowed me to be a part of his vision as
I developed my own.

What are you doing when you’re not on the job?
I am with my family – at baseball games, swim meets, and band and choir
concerts, or I’m doing work for the Keller Independent School District as a
board member. And if it is one of those rare days I am not busy, I will be
golfing!

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