Talking Stick - January/February 2019 - C3

Building a Connected Profession

I
Deb Schmidt-Rogers
Past President
ACUHO-I
Dschmi6@luc.edu

Alvin Sturdivant
President
ACUHO-I
sturdial@seattleu.edu

Mary DeNiro
CEO
ACUHO-I
mary@acuho-i.org

t's difficult to be unaffected by the divisive
mood that seems to envelop our world today.
We see it on our campuses and in our cities
as it hangs over conversations and debate like
a foreboding cloud. It's not that these divisions
are new, but modern mechanisms seem to have
brought them more to the forefront and set communities on edge. Unfortunately, when these differences rear up, our human inclination is to dig
in our heels, protect our interests, and resort to
an insular mentality. We know such a reaction
rarely is helpful, but that doesn't make it any
easier to withstand.
As housing professionals, we certainly have
seen this on our campuses. It's been said many
times, but our colleges and universities are microcosms of society. In ways they even become
a crucible amplifying those societal pressures
within our campus borders. It then turns to us to
(at least) reduce that pressure and (at best) channel that energy into creating a vibrant community that rejects homogeny, celebrates differences,
and is stronger because of them.

ACUHO-I as an association - because what
is an association, really, other than a professional community - similarly benefits when it finds
strengths in our individual differences. Through
the years ACUHO-I has made strategic decisions
in this pursuit, most recently in 2016 with the
strategic funding request that we called Pathways
to Success. While Deb Schmidt-Rogers served as
the ACUHO-I Executive Board's Inclusion and
Equity Director, Alvin Sturdivant was brought
on to the board in an ex officio role to shepherd
this initiative and assess the needs of ACUHO-I's
professionals of color. From that work emerged
the Multicultural Organizational Development
Climate study as well as the Multicultural Institute that has been an instrumental part of our annual conference since 2016. It informed our work
with ACUHO-I committees as well as inspiring
the expanded collection, analysis, and reporting
of data around key identity markers.

Deb Schmidt-Rogers
Past President, ACUHO-I

#acuhoi

Discussions about resources that would benefit the cause of underrepresented professionals
are also what inspired the creation of this special
Connections publication. The articles included
here provide a dedicated look at how professionals
of color have succeeded within the campus housing profession, the unique circumstances in which
they work, and the important role they play in support of a rapidly changing student demographic.
Connecting personal stories, professional development practices, and educated observations will
create a snapshot of campus housing and how professionals of color exist within that framework. We
are excited by the resources and insight included
within these pages even though we know there are
so many additional stories that could be told.
It is appropriate that this publication arrive at
the same time the ACUHO-I presidency transitions
from Deb to Alvin. For the two of them, their careers have focused on ways both students and professionals are represented and encouraged to grow.
In that way, the creation of this publication serves
as a sort of capstone for Deb's term and a launching
pad for Alvin's. Rest assured, though, there is more
to come. Moving forward, ACUHO-I members will
see a number of strategic initiatives focused on
increasing opportunities for professionals of color within the association and the campus housing
profession as a whole. Together we will be able to
identify emerging and persistent trends in social
justice issues, skills, and awareness so we can all
better understand the effect of these dynamics.
Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People, said, "Strength lies in differences,
not in similarities." Let's embrace that sentiment as
we move forward. ACUHO-I and campus housing
operations alike must maximize every resource,
identify new opportunities, and expand the portfolio of solutions. To do so means not just recognizing our differences, but to revel in them. The
resources inside these pages are just the first steps
of an ongoing journey. Please join us as we move
forward. Connected.

Alvin Sturdivant
President, ACUHO-I

Mary DeNiro
CEO, ACUHO-I

Talking Stick - January/February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - January/February 2019