By Victoria Durgin, Editor in Chief
Susquehanna students will encounter an improved student experience beginning this fall, according to university statements and a video of Benny the River Hawk taking a sledgehammer to what was the Office of Leadership and Engagement (OLE) in the upper level of Degenstein Campus Center.
Some students, though, believe the exact changes and improvements have not been fully articulated.
When questioned by a student in the comments section of the above mentioned video, Susquehanna’s official Instagram account replied that “updates about the SU 2.0 project, which includes the improvements focusing on the student experience, can be found” on a page on the Susquehanna website.
The SU 2.0 updates page referred to in this response was last updated on July 21, according to the site. The last time an email was sent to students informing them of SU 2.0 related updates came in May when University Marketing and Communications sent the link to the SU 2.0 updates page that “includes an overview of early recommendations and introduces new organizational charts” for Student Life and Inclusive Excellence.
Then, in June, Executive Vice President Mike Coyne emailed all students asking for suggestions to name a new “Student Hub” coming to campus this fall.
On July 30 students were told about changes to the Counseling Center via a video message from Dean of Health and Wellness Dr. Stacey Pearson-Wharton. This message also referenced the SU 2.0 initiative.
Beyond this, no further updates have been given.
The SU 2.0 updates page on the Susquehanna website includes four drop-down windows each focused on a different area. The “Student Experience Re-Design” drop-down contains the new organization chart that shows the restructuring of several departments reporting to the Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students (VPSL).
The VPSL position was recently filled by Dr. Frances Magee, who will begin on August 23.
Most of the changes reflected in this chart are related to what was the OLE. There is no mention of an “Office of Leadership and Engagement;” rather, there is now a Senior Director of Student Engagement, a Director of Student Engagement, and three Program Coordinators listed as reporting to the VPSL.
According to the mySU staff/student/faculty directory, former Interim Director of the OLE Jill Franklin is now Director of Student Engagement, and former Director of First-Year Experience Samantha Proffitt is now the Senior Director of Student Engagement.
The university has not formally announced those new roles, or how—if at all—they will differ from the role of Director of the Office of Leadership and Engagement which existed previously.
The page also offers more details on the new hub students were asked to name.
The site states that “creating a physical and digital Service Hub is envisioned as an effective support system offering access to Student Advocates with generalist knowledge and expertise to meet student needs and, when necessary, provide a ‘warm handoff’ to specialist resources in offices such as the Registrar, Student Financial Services and the Global Opportunities (GO) Offices.”
Additionally, the redesign introduces the position of Student Life Data Analyst. Along with the plans for the Hub to become a “support system,” the site also states that “Susquehanna can better serve its students by developing a centralized data hub. Faculty and staff will be better able to track student data across offices, reducing manual data input into multiple systems, and allowing key student data to be seen across the institution. Better data will lead to earlier and more effective interventions with students and will improve the overall student experience.”
While a name or official location for the hub has not been announced, the video posted of Benny sledgehammering the OLE seems to signal changes coming to that area of Degenstein Campus Center.
