Dr. Scott M. Helfrich and Residential Area Director Rebekah Yerger participated in the 2018 Regional Entry Level Institute (RELI) at Penn State Harrisburg as offered by the Mid-Atlantic College & University Housing Officers (MACUHO) and Northeast College & University Housing Officers (NEACUHO) professional organizations. Dr. Helfrich served as a faculty member, and Rebekah was a first-time participant.
The Regional Entry Level Institute is an intensive professional development seminar featuring a range of activities for entry-level professionals who aspire to mid-level positions in residence life and beyond. To ensure the intended learning environment, only 28 RELI participants are accepted each year. Participants will be placed into small groups and assigned a faculty member who will provide individual advice, support and suggestions for future professional growth.
This year’s competencies were based on the Association of College & University Housing Officers -International (ACUHO-I) Body of Knowledge:
- Crisis Management
- Evaluation & Planning
- Facilities Management
- Fiscal Resources & Control
- Human Resources
- Occupancy & Operations
- Resident Education & Student Behavior
- Additional mini-sessions were presented on Professional Development, Ancillary Partnerships, and Campus Politics
Dr. Helfrich presented on Facilities Management and was able to share lessons learned from his experience with housing facilities operations at four different universities, including his time here at Millersville University. He also shared his knowledge on student housing public-private partnerships (P3) given he is known as a thought-leader in the industry on this topic. Millersville University’s suite-style housing exists due to a public-private partnership between the University and Student Service, Inc. (SSI).
Rebekah enjoyed her time as a participant as she was able to expand her knowledge about the housing and residence life professional while interacting with colleagues from around the region:
“At RELI, I really learned a lot about different core competencies that housing and residence life professionals use all over the world. The best thing about this conference was the opportunity to network in a small setting. Now I have the confidence to attend larger conferences and not feel as if I don’t know anyone. It was interesting to hear the perspectives of professionals that work at differing institutions like NYU, UConn, Berkelee College of Music, and so many others. After this conference, I plan on focusing my attention on staff team dynamics and how to best set up my RAs for success, both academically and within HARP.”