Foundational Priorities
2024-25 Priorities
Staff Well-Being & Belonging
The Staff Well-Being & Belonging Team is committed to fostering a culture of well-being, mattering, and belonging for all staff within the division, promoting an inclusive and thriving workplace. By prioritizing inclusive excellence, the team will lead initiatives like the Inclusive Excellence Conference and support diversity and inclusion collaborations across OHIO. The team will also review and analyze staff assessments to address well-being needs, implement recommendations for care, and create a calendar of events to strengthen staff connections and engagement.
Student Lifecycle
The Student Lifecycle Team is dedicated to analyzing key experiences and support services that students engage with throughout their journey at OHIO, from enrollment to graduation, to ensure they receive the support needed to succeed. By mapping the student lifecycle during the 2024-2025 academic year, this team aims to identify crucial milestones. They hope to also gather insights to enhance student success, guide resource allocation, and inform program development. Lastly, the team will define and promote at least four impactful "signature experiences" within the Division of Student Affairs that support student development.
Student Well-Being
The Student Well-Being Team is focused on transforming THRIVE into a proactive, action-oriented initiative that empowers Athens campus students to prioritize their well-being and foster a caring community. Throughout 2024-2025 academic year, this team is charged with enhancing THRIVE's visibility and student engagement by shifting from a marketing approach to one centered on active participation - launching clear Calls to Action and two new programs to drive involvement. Key efforts include developing a well-being training for staff and student employees, creating student leadership roles within THRIVE, and establishing a sustainable framework for ongoing student engagement, ultimately building a campus culture where well-being is actively supported.
2023-24 Priorities
Review updates and achievements from the 2023-24 priority groups.
Care & Well-Being
Our mission starts with "We Care." We prioritize the holistic well-being of our students, staff, and community, recognizing that all aspects are vital to fulfilling our vision for all Bobcats to discover their potential and make a meaningful impact. The well-being of our students and our employees will be embedded into our day-to-day operations, including our position descriptions, goals, and the assessment of our efforts. We will engage students and campus partners in the co-creation of proactive well-being initiatives that develop a shared responsibility for supporting a culture of care and well-being that allows our whole community to thrive.
Inclusive Excellence
When we feel we are in the place we are meant to be, and with people we are meant to be with, it feels good. The Division of Student Affairs is committed to ensuring frameworks of belongingness and inclusive excellence are embedded into our day-to-day work.
We will develop robust and prominent initiatives that actively foster the principles of building community, celebrating cultures, and educating community members on a variety of topics. This initiative will improve strategic knowledge and skills that will contribute to a welcoming and inclusive environment and the dismantling of barriers.
Learn more about the Inclusive Excellence Conference that was held in 2024
Engagement & Leadership
The Division of Student Affairs will develop and implement a plan to revitalize the Bobcat student experience. Developing a campus climate and culture of student leadership, engagement, and service will elevate the student experience and have a positive impact on student success, retention, and completion.
Working in conjunction with students and campus partners, Student Affairs will ensure student-facing functions and spaces operate with a student-centric, student-first, process-second approach; students will experience a campus experience that will provide opportunities to develop their interests; they will choose experiences that align with their goals; and enhance their education in and out of the classroom.
Programming will be designed to provide experiences that are engaging, inclusive, and educational, with an intentional focus on retention and developing a lifelong commitment to 91探花.
People & Partnerships
Our people are our greatest resource. Through strategic enhancements of all employee lifecycle elements, we will be the conduit to impact positive culture change. This change will focus on integrating employee engagement and morale in all lifecycle elements, fostering a growth mindset organizational development capacity, effectively managing performance, and create a mission-focused environment where trust, compassion, stability, hope, and a sense of belonging exists for all our staff.
Assessment will be embedded in all our priority areas; however, the oversight of how we assess our projects, ensuring we are creating, measuring, and improving upon common student learning outcomes across the division, will be housed in this priority area.
Fostering and facilitating campus and community partnerships will be a priority. Embedding opportunities to work together, learn from each other, and support the mission of the university will be a core component of our work.