FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIANAPOLIS — Two Indiana University campuses are listed among the Most Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs.
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and Indiana University Southeast, located in New Albany, Ind., are among the 19 universities and colleges on the 2016 list of Most Promising Places to Work, published in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine’s Feb. 25 edition.
This is the second consecutive year IU Southeast has made the national list.
The Center for Higher Education Enterprise at The Ohio State University conducted a national Web-based survey commissioned by the American College Personnel Association – College Student Educators International and Diverse magazine to select the universities on the annual list, now in its third year.
With a focus on workplace diversity, staffing practices and work environment, the survey examined several categories, including:
- Family friendliness
- Salary/benefits
- Professional-development opportunities
“Our study yields insight into diversity in the student affairs workplace and offers a useful tool for employers, career services staff and job-seekers across the country,” said principal investigator and CHEE director Terrell Strayhorn.
For the first time, this year’s report included a list of “Promising Practices” that provide tangible ways other student affairs divisions and senior student affairs officers can use this year’s results to improve practices, Strayhorn said.
The study highlighted five Promising Practices that student affairs personnel at the Most Promising Places cited as reasons they enjoyed working in their units:
- Demonstrated commitment to institutional mission and strategic plan;
- Senior student affairs leaders who were available and involved;
- Formal and informal recognition of good work;
- Institutional and senior leadership support of work/life balance; and
- Intentional investment in the development of student affairs staff.
At IU Southeast, Vice Chancellor Jason Meriwether oversees the Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. Fifty-one full-time and 22 part-time staff members in various departments — including the Adult Student Center, the Career Development Center, Campus Life and others — work in this division.
“This accolade is a reflection of the values and strategic focus of the IU Southeast Student Affairs team,” Meriwether said. “We are committed to diversity in varying ideas, thoughts and approaches to creatively enhance the campus experience. Our Student Affairs team embraces diversity as the nexus where the shared value for student learning and engagement intersects with the uniqueness of each person’s identity.”
Vice Chancellor Zebulun R. Davenport oversees the Division of Student Affairs at IUPUI. The division has 91 full-time staff members and two part-time staff members for nine units: the Campus Center, Campus Recreation, Counseling and Psychological Services, Educational Partnerships and Student Advocacy, Health and Wellness Promotion, Housing and Residence Life, Office of Student Conduct, Office of Student Involvement, and Student Health Services.
“I am humbled by the recognition as one of the 2016 Most Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs,” Davenport said. “In the Division of Student Affairs at IUPUI, we work diligently to create spaces that recognize, respect and celebrate diversity. We model and practice fostering a community that promotes equal participation, honors and respects differences, and teaches multicultural competency.
“While we are proud of this honor, we know that we can never stop working to deliver quality programs and services for students at IUPUI,” Davenport continued. “The IUPUI students are our motivation, not the national recognition.”
The 7,500-member American College Personnel Association – College Student Educators International supports and fosters college student learning through the generation and dissemination of knowledge that informs policies, practices and programs for student affairs professionals and the higher education community.
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education is the nation’s premier publication covering the issues pertaining to underrepresented minorities in American higher education.
The Center for Higher Education Enterprise focuses on research, policy analysis and outreach that will help make higher education more accessible, affordable, engaged and all-around excellent.