Making connections in Student Affairs
November 7, 2021
Tuesday’s Student Affairs Town Hall meeting highlighted completed and upcoming work from each department’s leadership team, many of whom reported negative outcomes, but still continue to find ways to succeed.
A trend the different leadership teams realized was how well they connected and collaborated with one another. The student affairs department “survived” through the pandemic and the accompanying difficulties because they found new ways to work together.
“We hosted a full-day retreat last summer, as a leadership team to not only unpack this past academic year, but also to highlight and identify the lessons that worked. We also identified expectations and priority for the upcoming academic year,” said Vice Chancellor Artanya Wesley.
Wesley led the meeting, laying out all the segregated fees and where the money goes. Most of the fees go to UHCS, textbook rental, the children’s center, University Center and Student Activities and Involvement.
“As far as attaining our revenues we are dependent on all fees that students pay for our services, in regards to paying our bills we have no state funds that we receive,” said Director of University Housing Frank Bartlett.
Due to the decline of enrollment, the expenses have exceeded revenue since the fiscal year 2019. This continues to be an issue that the university looks to solve. Housing also continued to see a drop in occupancy.
Executive Director of University Center Angela Meldonian reported that UW-W Dining Services is working to fill 95 vacant positions and is experiencing a product shortage.
“You don’t see the work behind the scenes. They put in 16 to 18 hour days at the start of school to get operations up and running,” said Meldonian. “We have a really engaged student population this semester who have shared interest in sharing our story.”
The bookstore, among other departments, saw some positive change. They were able to start a new custom shop and began offering more technology to students and staff such as laptops.
The University Health and Counseling Services administered almost 2,000 Covid-19 vaccines, updated its facilities and continues to offer wellness programs to the students.
“One of our priorities for our division is to tell our story, so we want to be able to continue to have these types of opportunities. We will be hosting a spring town hall that will be focused on the student experience,” said Wesley.
