2014 had so many was such a fun year on the podcast that we decided to put together a "best of" episode to recap everything.  Going through everything was a fairly large task, but we came up with a few of the clips that we thought you would enjoy hearing again.  

Unfortunately, with so many episodes, some really great stuff got left out.  But everything is listed on the podcast section of our blog, for you to go and revisit or listen for the very first time.  

We hope you enjoy a few of our favorite moments from this past year.  From all of us at the Student Housing Matters blog, we hope you have a very happy holiday season!  

Joining the Conversation today is Ron Campbell, the Executive Director of the National Association of College Auxiliary Services, or NACAS.  

This is Ron’s second time joining us on the podcast after we originally interviewed him in 2012.  Today Ron joined us, not only to catch up on what is going on with NACAS, but to share some insight he has gained on striving toward a healthy work-life balance.  

Prior to serving at NACAS, Ron was president and CEO of College Business Concepts, a company dedicated to developing educational and business partnerships between higher education institutions and corporations.  Ron has experience in higher education, working for six years at the University of Minnesota, and for 4 years at George Mason University, where he served as the Director of Housing and Residence Life.  

Today we’re doing something a little different… Instead of an individual interview, we have a panel of senior leaders from Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Michigan.  The individuals participating are:

·         Bob Harrison, President

·         Kelly Hahn, CFO

·         Dr. Clinton Gabbert, VP of Student Services

·         Anne Erdman, VP for Administration

This team has been working together on a large project, the college’s first residence hall.  Although it is a little unique for a community college to have housing, Lake Michigan College is actually the seventh two-year institution in Michigan to open housing.  Not only did the team talk about their foray into student housing, but they covered several other topics of interest to both, two and four year institutions across the country.  In this podcast, you’ll see/hear their team dynamic, how well they know each other, and why they’ve been able to be successful in their endeavors. 

We're on the road at the 2014 NACAS Annual Conference.  On Monday of the conference, we spoke to Steven Lacker (Sasaki), Tom Petrinni (EVIVE), Greg Powell (Denny's Corporation), and Kristan Wun (Caldwell and Gregory), about what they're up to and what the world of higher education is facing now.  

Today we had the opportunity to interview one of the keynote speakers for the conference, best-selling author, Frans Johansson.  If you’ve listened to the podcast to the podcast for a while, that name may sound familiar.  That’s because we interviewed him a little over a year ago, about his book, The Click Moment.  Frans is also the author of the book, The Medici Effect, which was named one of the top 10 best business books of the year by Amazon.com.

Frans was kind enough to speak with us right before he stepped on stage for his keynote address, to talk to us about dynamic leadership and shaping ideas to lead to success.

In the student affairs world, dealing with parents is something we do almost as much as dealing with the students.  In this episode, we spoke with the interim Vice President for Student Affairs at Auburn University, Lady Cox about dealing with student's parents. She told us some funny stories about some experiences she's had and gave some great advice to parents as they send their children off to college (and attempt to avoid being helicopter/snowplow parents).

Lady began her professional career in sales and marketing with a Fortune 50 company. However, over time, she missed the university community and took a position as the Marketing Coordinator for Student Housing at Mississippi State University, later becoming the Director of Parent and Student Services in the Dean of Students Office. She joined the Division of Student Affairs at Auburn University in September 2010. 

Lady holds an undergraduate degree in Communications from Mississippi State University, and a masters in Higher Education from Auburn University.

Dr. Nancy Uscher, president of Cornish College of the Arts, in Seattle, Washington, sat down to talk with us about how her roles as a president and a musician have some key similarities.  Dr. Uscher became president of Cornish in August 2011, becoming the 1st female president of the College since its founding in 1914.  

Dr. Uscher holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, a master’s degree in music from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and a Ph.D. in music from New York University.  She is also an Associate of the Royal College of Music in London, where she spent her junior year in college.  Additionally, she spent two decades as a concert violist, performing and teaching around the world, including six years leading the viola section of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, before transitioning full-time into academe.  She is also the author of dozens of articles and 2 books.  

Camille Barkley is the Executive Director of the Office of Communications and Marketing at Auburn University.  She sat down with us to talk about what marketing an institution in the higher education world looks like (and specifically with housing) and what strategies they are using at Auburn.

Ms. Barkley has more than 25 years of marketing experience, having worked in print production, promotion and marketing for several publishers, including Rolling Stone, Random House and Simon & Schuster. She has spent the last 10 years serving at Auburn in their Marketing Department.  

Dr. Peggy Williams joined us for a chat about her experiences from living in a residence hall, to working in higher education, to being a university president.  She talks about what higher ed means to her and the concept of "Knowing and Knowing Better."

Dr. Williams began her career as a social worker, and upon entering the field of higher education she held various faculty and administrative positions within the Vermont State College system and at Trinity College in Burlington, VT. She served as president of Lyndon State College for eight years prior to being named the seventh—and first woman—president of Ithaca College, where she served for 11 years. 

Back for day two at the NACUBO Annual Meeting.

This week on the “Student Housing Matters” podcast, we packed up our microphones and headed to the National Association of College and University Business Officers (or NACUBO) Annual meeting in Seattle, Washington, to talk to some of the leaders and big thinkers in the higher ed community.  Throughout this week we’ll be posting a few short interviews from the conference each day.  We’ll talk about things  ranging from specific topics going on at the conference to current trends in the higher education world from all different perspectives.  So check back every day for new content.

This week on the “Student Housing Matters” podcast, we packed up our microphones and headed to the National Association of College and University Business Officers (or NACUBO) Annual meeting in Seattle, Washington, to talk to some of the leaders and big thinkers in the higher ed community.  Throughout this week we’ll be posting a few short interviews from the conference each day.  We’ll talk about things  ranging from specific topics going on at the conference to current trends in the higher education world from all different perspectives.  So check back every day for new content.

Here are some of the highlights from Sunday, July 20

The Student Housing Matters blog and podcast exist to provide a place where topics relevant to on-campus student housing can have the spotlight. One such issue is the very important topic of mental health.  All across the country there are rising numbers of students on college campuses dealing with serious mental health problems that are seeking treatment at campus counseling centers.  On this episode of the podcast we were pleased to have two professionals from the University of Connecticut’s Department of Counseling and Mental Health Services join us.

Jonathan Beazley is the Alcohol and other drug Interventionist at the University of Connecticut and has served in this role since 2009. He is a licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor as well as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Connecticut and has been in the field of behavioral health since 1979. Throughout his career he has served in numerous clinical and managerial roles across the spectrum of mental health and substance abuse programs and organizations. He is a frequent presenter and educator on subjects associated with substance abuse and other mental health issues.

Also joining us is Paige Hover, a clinical psychology doctoral student from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is currently completing her pre-doctoral internship at the University of Connecticut’s Counseling and Mental Health Services. She has worked in various settings with clients who struggled with substance abuse and mental health issues including a correctional facility, a psychiatric hospital and a residential substance abuse treatment program.  Upon completion of her doctoral degree in July, 2014, she plans to pursue a career in college counseling specializing in substance use treatment and outreach prevention programs.

Facilitating the discussion in todays podcast is Capstone On Campus’s Becky Sierp,  Becky currently serves as a Director for Facilities & Administration for The Heights residence hall at Montclair State University.

Chatting with us again today is Nick Morgan.  We enjoyed having Nick on our podcast in March of this year and invited him back to talk about his latest book, Power Cues, published by Harvard Business Review Press.  We talked about how your body language affects communication with the people around you, as well as, learned what your "leadership voice" is. 

A passionate teacher, Nick is committed to helping people find clarity in their thinking and ideas – and then delivering them with panache.  He has been commissioned by Fortune 50 companies to write for many CEOs and presidents, as well as coached people to give Congressional testimony, to appear on the Today Show, and to take on the investment community.  He has also worked widely with political and educational leaders. 

Joining us in this episode is Edward Burger, President of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.  Dr. Burger joined us for a podcast, prior to becoming a University president, in September of 2012 to talk about his book “The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking.”  In February of 2013 he became the 15th president of Southwestern University.  Prior to his current position, he was the Francis Christopher Oakley Third Century Professor of Mathematics at Williams College, where he served from 1990 to 2013, as well as the former vice-provost at Baylor University.  

A New York native, President Burger graduated summa cum laude in mathematics from Connecticut College and earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin.  

President Burger is a prolific author and noted scholar, having authored or co-authored more than 35 research articles, as well as 12 books.  His most recent book, which he co-authored with Michael Starbird, is “The 5 Elements of Critical Thinking,” the focus of a Join the Conversation podcast in September 2012. 

Chatting with us today is Dennis J. Shields, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.  He spoke with us about his experiences living in a dorm room as the VP of Student Affairs and about his successes in building a great foundation for student community on his campus.

Dennis became Chancellor in 2010, after having served as the acting VP for Student Affairs at City College of New York – City University of New York.  He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Graceland College and his Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law.  Dennis has held administrative positions in a number of law schools, including Duke, University of Michigan and the University of Iowa.

A few podcast episodes earlier, we interviewd Lyndon State College President, Joe Bertolino for a second time.  Dr. Bertolino mentioned the Lyndon State meteorology program and how Joe D'Aleo was a member of the faculty of Lyndon State and became involved in the beginning stages of the Weather Channel.  So we reached out to Mr. D'Aleo and he was kind enough to chat with us about his time at Lyndon State and at the Weather Channel.  Mr. D'Aleo has an extensive professional background in meteorology, including serving as the first director of meteorology at The Weather Channel in 1981.  Just prior to joining The Weather Channel, he was a professor and chairman of the department of meteorology at Lyndon State.  He is currently the cp-chief meteorology at WeatherBell Analytics in Boston.

Joining the Conversation today is Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski III, President of The University of Maryland, Baltimore County.  Dr. Hrabowski began his career at UMBC in 1987 as Vice Provost, then Executive Vice President, and finally, president in 1992.  Under his leadership, he has turn UMBC into a place where, “it is cool to be smart.”  

He holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Hampton Institute (graduating at 19 years old), and both a masters in mathematics and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration / Statistics, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

We will always be grateful to Dr. Joe Bertolino for agreeing to be interviewed in our very first Join the Conversation podcast, in July 2012.  Just a month before that interview, Joe had become the 15th president of Lyndon State, after serving eight years as vice president for enrollment at Queens College, part of the City University of New York system. 

In March of this year, we had the chance to interview Joe again during the annual meeting of the American Council on Education in San Diego California.  Doug Brown, president of Capstone On-Campus Management conducted the interview.

Clarion University President, Karen Whitney, spoke with us on adversity, utilizing your strengths, and the role of student housing on a university campus.  

Since assuming the presidency, Dr. Whitney has led the university to articulate a mission to provide transformative, lifelong learning opportunities through innovative, nationally recognized programs delivered in inclusive, student-centered environments.

Dr. Whitney has a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts in Public Administration and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Houston. She presents, teaches, researches, and writes in the areas of higher education finance, administration, law, student development, and student facilities.

Dr. Nick Morgan spoke with us on the importance of effective storytelling when communicating.  

Dr. Morgan is one of America’s top communication theorists and coaches. A passionate teacher, he is committed to helping people find clarity in their thinking and ideas – and then delivering them with panache.  He has been commissioned by Fortune 50 companies to write for many CEOs and presidents.  He has coached people to give Congressional testimony, to appear on the Today Show, and to take on the investment community.  He has worked widely with political and educational leaders.  And he has himself spoken, led conferences, and moderated panels at venues around the world.

In a time where so many federal issues are clamoring for more and more funding, higher education's piece of the pie is getting smaller and smaller. Marshall University President, Stephen Kopp spoke with us about the issue of decreasing government funding for higher education institutions and how they'll likely have to deal with it in the future.

Part two of a two-part podcast.  This past November, Student Housing Business brought together leaders from higher education, as well as the student housing industry, for the inaugural InterFace Student Housing Conference in Orlando.  A wide variety of topics salient to student housing were discussed -from Finance to Architectural Design Trends to Residence Hall Renovations and Technology.   In case you weren’t able to attend, the following session is one (of many) that you won’t want to miss. Listen as Doug Brown moderates a panel of higher ed professionals including Norb Dunkel, Associate VP for Student Affairs, Auxiliary Operations, University of Florida; Carl Dieso, Associate Director of Housing Operations, University of Cincinnati; John Eckman, Director of Residential Services, University of Pennsylvania; and Marc Robillard, Executive Director of Auxiliary Services, Boston University.  The topic of the discussion is The State of On-Campus Housing: Utilizing Student Housing for Recruiting, Retention & Enrollment Management.

Part one of a two-part podcast.  This past November, Student Housing Business brought together leaders from higher education, as well as the student housing industry, for the inaugural InterFace Student Housing Conference in Orlando.  A wide variety of topics salient to student housing were discussed -from Finance to Architectural Design Trends to Residence Hall Renovations and Technology.   In case you weren’t able to attend, the following session is one (of many) that you won’t want to miss. Listen as Doug Brown moderates a panel of higher ed professionals including Norb Dunkel, Associate VP for Student Affairs, Auxiliary Operations, University of Florida; Carl Dieso, Associate Director of Housing Operations, University of Cincinnati; John Eckman, Director of Residential Services, University of Pennsylvania; and Marc Robillard, Executive Director of Auxiliary Services, Boston University.  The topic of the discussion is The State of On-Campus Housing: Utilizing Student Housing for Recruiting, Retention & Enrollment Management.