University Housing

Involvement Information
 


The experience of being a Resident Director is not just about being an RD in your building or area. As you are preparing for your future, it is key that you take the opportunity to be involved and get a well-rounded and varied experience. If you're looking for an environment that encourages this, Clemson is for you!

Clemson University prides itself on the outstanding level of involvement of the Division of Student Affairs' professionals and graduate students. They are involved on campus, as well as in local, regional and national organizations. We are also proud to say that many Clemson representatives either hold or have held offices in various organizations! Through this page, we hope to give you a good sampling of the many ways you cannot only get involved in the department, but on the state, regional and national level.

National, Regional and State Organizations

As mentioned, Clemson is very involved on the national, regional and state level. Both your colleagues and the professional staff you'd be working with are involved in the profession. By doing this, we're not only promoting Clemson, but we are ensuring that we are abreast of the most up-to-date information related to our field. We are not just passive participants, but often times leaders in many of these organizations and will encourage you to challenge yourself to be the same. Of course, you'll want to take your time to find those organizations and activities you'd want to spend your time with and we highly encourage you to learn more about them and consider the wide range of opportunities out there.

Along with our faculty and professional staff we strive to maintain a high-level of involvement. All of these organizations open their membership to graduate students providing opportunities for leadership and professional development, educational support and attendance at conferences. Typically, graduate students will attend conferences together with support of on-campus organizations and the department. These activities provide the opportunity to meet student affairs professionals, faculty and graduate students from other institutions.

To encourage involvement in many state, regional and national organizations, Residential Life offers professional development funding to the Resident Director staff which will allow them to join organizations, attend conferences and/or present. This funding will often times cover several memberships or registration to a regional or national conference. Many of our RDs also work with the Student Personnel Association and Graduate Student Government, who can often times augment their departmental funding by providing travel funds or hotel rooms. Many professionals are also willing to host graduate students while at conference.

Below is a listing of many of the organizations that our staff are involved with.

  • Southeastern Association of Housing Officers (SEAHO)
  • South Carolina Housing Officers Association (SCHOA)
  • South Carolina College Personnel Association (SCCPA)
  • Southern Association of College Student Affairs (SACSA)
  • American College Personnel Association (ACPA)
  • National Association of College Student Affairs (NASPA)
  • Association of College and University Housing Officers (ACUHO-I)
  • Chi Sigma Alpha, National Student Affairs Honor Society
    • Clemson University hosts the Beta Chapter, which was (recognized in the Spring of 2003) by the Alpha Chapter (founders) from Virginia Tech.
  • NACURH and SAACURH
    • Clemson University participates on the National and Regional level of these Residence Hall leadership organizations. We take students to both conferences annually, as well as send an advisory team of full time and Resident Director staff.
  • South Carolina Organization of Residential Education (SCORE)
    • SCORE is an organization that develops, plans, initiates, executes and encourages programs and communication which promote the public interest and the social welfare of resident students across the state. SCORE acts as the regional voice of resident students residing in colleges and universities across South Carolina.
  • National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH)
    • National Honor Society recognizing the top 1% of residence hall students and recognizes the achievement of residence hall leadership. Many Resident Directors and professional staff are inducted members and remain active in Clemson's local organization. The Tony Cawthon Chapter of NRHH is co-advised by a professional staff member and a Resident Director.
  • Association of Fraternity Advisors (AFA)
  • National Fraternal Organizations (IFC, Panhellenic, NPHC and Service Fraternities)
    • Several staff are members of several Greek organizations.
  • Omicron Delta Kappa
    • Several staff are members of ODK, the National leadership recognition fraternity. Recognizes student's who develop and foster leadership within their campus.
  • Order of Omega
    • Several staff are members of this Honor society for Greek letter organization members.

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Don't Just Go!

Outside of attending conferences, we highly encourage staff to not just attend, but make the most of out of the conference experience. Not only will you be learning, but you'll be networking, gaining valuable insights, as well as exploring so that when you're job searching you'll be prepared and ready! Many of our staff get involved by volunteering and participating in mentoring programs and case study competitions.

Our staff present regularly at conferences such as ACPA, NASPA, ACUHO-I, SEAHO, SACSA, SCCPA and SCORE on a wide range of topics. Other conferences that current staff have presented at SCHOA, Fall for Leadership (Clemson University's Leadership Conference), SAACURH and NACURH. There are no limits to the opportunities!

When you can't go to a conference, that doesn't mean you can't still be involved. Our staff have also been recognized as outstanding Graduate Students and leaders within organizations by receiving awards, as well as have been published in notable journals such as SACSA, The Journal of College Student Development and The Palmetto Practitioner. Outside of journals, it's not uncommon for our staff to write for The SEAHO Report or ACUHO-I's Talking Stick.

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Internal Involvement

Within Residential Life, we have a committee structure that provides leadership in specific areas. Each Resident Director is expected to be involved in at least one of the following committees. We encourage them to be involved in a variety over their tenure so that they are well rounded and gain a well-rounded experience to benefit them in the future. Following is a quick description of each of t hose main committees.

  • Graduate Assistant Selection Process (GASP)
    • GASP is responsible for the recruitment endeavors and establishing the selection process for Resident Director candidates. Further information on the GASP committee is described on the "Contact Us" page.
  • Resident Assistant Selection Process (RASP)
    • RASP is responsible for developing the guidelines and selection processes for our traditional undergraduate staff. We hold selection processes in both the fall and spring semesters.
  • Resident Assistant Leadership Institute (RALI)
    • RALI or "RA Training" is our traditional training program for undergraduate staff. This group is responsible for establishing the training programs for both the week long Fall Training program known as the James E. Bostic Resident Assistant Leadership Institute and the 2-3 day Spring Training program.
  • Resident Director Training
    • The RD Training committee is responsible for the 2 week Fall Training for all Resident Director Staff, the 2 day Spring Residential Life Retreat (usually in January shortly after opening), as well as on-going development during All-Staff meetings. They also send out a plethora of information to new Resident Directors in the summer to help get them oriented to Clemson.
  • Staff Appreciation
    • The Staff Appreciation Committee is responsible for many endeavors to keep the staff motivated and recognize them for outstanding efforts throughout the year. They sponsor the Spring RA Banquet, a newsletter that spotlights staff and gives "pats on the back", solicit for annual awards, recognizes staff for service, among other things.
  • Desk Assistant Recruitment and Training
    • DART is responsible for the recruitment and review of applications for Desk Assistant positions and making training recommendations. Desk Assistants are students who work at each of the residential area desks (while RA staff are not serving their mandatory hours) and are responsible for security, assist staff and students as a resource, as well as answer calls to the desk. RDs are directly responsible for hiring from the approved candidate lists developed by the DASP/T committee.
  • Other Opportunities
    • Based on need, we will often develop ad-hoc committees that will assist in specific areas. In recent years, some of these endeavors have been: Staff Manual Updates, Web Page Review, Sorority Housing Review, Fraternity Residential Area Renovation, Technology Review and Resident Appreciation Week. We will always encourage Resident Directors to be involved in such endeavors as they arise.
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Unique to Clemson

All of the following organizations and committees are ways that Resident Directors are centrally involved in not just our Department, but across campus! Below are descriptions of the endeavors, but know that you are not limited by just this list.

This is just a sampling of many of the things that you are encouraged to be involved with to augment your experience as a Resident Director at Clemson University that will not only benefit you here, but in the future.

  • Residence Hall Association
    • The Clemson University RHA is very influential and involved on campus. They serve as the voice for residents throughout the campus and our staff often work very closely with the Senior Leadership of the organization and attend their weekly meetings to stay abreast of issues. One Resident Director will serve as the co-advisor with a professional staff member.
  • Residence Hall Council
    • All residential areas have a Residence Hall Council or Apartment Council. Resident Directors in those areas serve as advisors who are encouraged to work with their councils on the development of programming and leadership development.
  • Housing Advisory Board
    • The Housing Advisory Board is a group of representatives from all areas of University Housing, including Facilities, Residential Life and Administrative Services. One Resident Director sits on this Board that makes recommendations to the Department on many concerns. The group is also often called upon to make statements on behalf of the department to the Directors.
  • Resident Director Advisory Board
    • RDAB is an organization established in 2002 by the Resident Director staff that serves as an advisory council on concerns and a sounding board for new ideas. Each Residential Area sends a representative to the monthly RDAB meetings. The chair of the Board is advised by an Associate Director and meets regularly with the Director of Residential Life or other senior level administrators to discuss ideas to constantly improve the experience and quality of life for the Resident Director staff.
  • CU 101 - University Success Skills
    • CU 101 is the Clemson University Version of a "First Year Experience Course". Many of our staff are involved as instructors. Resident Directors may assist in the instruction of CU 101, as long as they co-instruct with a Master Degreed individual. This is a great way to get class room experience for a practicum or internship, while working closely with First Year students.
  • EDC 390 - Student Development for the University Paraprofessional
    • More commonly known as "RA Class" or "RA Seminar", our sections of EDC 390 are designed as on-going training and skill development for our undergraduate staff. Many Resident Directors will instruct the course along with the guidance of a Master Degreed full-time staff member. Our undergraduate staff take this course during their first semester of employment as a Resident Assistant.
  • Clemson University Chapter of the National Coalition Building Institute
    • NCBI is a national organization that promotes prejudice reduction. Several staff serve as trainers in presenting workshops to students, staff and faculty on campus. The NCBI Chapter is also connected with the Carolina Coalition (serving both North and South Carolina).
  • Safe Zone Committee and Trainers
    • Due to an idea originally proposed by a past Residential Life Staff member, The Safe Zone committee is a group of Clemson University faculty and staff who have worked to develop a program to train people in the community on how to provide a safe space to those of the GLBT community. Many members of the Residential Life staff are trained to facilitate the program to Resident Assistants and Faculty/Staff, which began in the Spring of 2004.
  • Student Personnel Association
    • Student Personnel Association is graduate student run organization that provides activities and professional development opportunities for both graduate students and professionals within Student Affairs. Many Resident Directors serve in leadership roles (from President to Treasurer) in this organization and are active members.
  • Graduate Student Government
    • Graduate Student Government is the government that advocates and oversees graduate students on Clemson's campus. GSG provides activities and advocacy for issues specific to graduate students.
  • One World Project
    • One World Project is a large scale activity that works to promote diversity and awareness on campus. This endeavor was started by graduate students in the Student Affairs program and in the past 4 years has become an University sponsored committee that includes involvement from undergraduates, graduates, staff, faculty and community members.
  • Student Affairs Advisory Board
    • This advisory council gives recommendations to the Vice-President for Student Affairs on the state of Student Affairs at Clemson University. This group is made up of faculty, staff and students who have direct impact on the services and philosophies of the Division.
  • Alcohol Task Force
    • Clemson University has the same concerns that most campuses have related to alcohol and drug abuse. This Task Force combines students, staff and faculty to develop alternatives and assess the impact that these issues have on our campus. Currently, several Residential Life staff members serve as representatives to this group.
  • Solid Green 
    • Solid Green: For a Better Future is Clemson's anti-litter and environmental sustainability campaign. Its mission is to promote a "green" campus by coordinating and sponsoring events that further Clemson's commitment to the environment and sustainability. The goals of Solid Green are to raise awareness of littering on campus, recycling, energy and water conservation and other environmental issues; to promote clean-up activities and other events; and to support student groups that promote environmental 
  • Panhellenic, Interfraternity Council and NPHC
    • These organizations serve the Greek community on campus. They serve as a programming board and advocate for those in the Greek community. Our staff are encouraged to be involved with this organization and the staff who work directly with these populations are encouraged to attend to communicate with their residents.

 

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