Submitted by Erica E. Andersen Student Leadership & Involvement Annual Report 2018-2019
Submitted by Erica E. Andersen
Student Leadership & Involvement
Annual Report 2018-2019
1
Mission By offering a variety of events, programs and services, Student Leadership & Involvement at the
University of Utah incites students to action, encourages engagement in campus and community
service, and provides opportunities that enrich and support personal and academic growth and
development, which culminates in a lifelong commitment to effective leadership.
Values Upon engaging in some strategic planning conversations, it was made clear that the team valued
additional characteristics beyond the current departmental values of Student Learning, Community, and
Collaboration. As a result, the department engaged in a series of conversations, reflections, and
collaborative writing to produce updated values which bring a more robust understanding of the
meaning of our work, and how we serve students. This has been an important step as Student
Leadership & Involvements moves to become more of a values based department. These values were
solidified in July 2019, and include: Student-Centered, Social Justice/Inclusion, Collaboration, Innovation,
and Integrity.
The Team Professional Staff
Erica Andersen, Director Jessica Ashcraft, Associate Director
Esther Okang, Accountant, Student Orgs Steven Whipple, Finance Advisor
Jessica See, Administrative Assistant Isael Torres, Programming Advisor
Ryan Rhodes, Student Orgs Coordinator Zitlalli Herrera, Graduate Assistant- Programming
Abby Feenstra, Legislative Advisor
Student Leaders
Kayla Kingsley, Leadership Intern, Graphic Design Alena Wilson, NSLS President
Connor Morgan, ASUU Student Body President Maggie Gardner, ASUU VP of University Relations
Xandra Prior, ASUU VP of Student Relations Lilly Kanishka, Chief of Staff
Quincy Parkes, ORG Student Leader Ivan Flores, ORG Student Leader
Stephanie Jones, ORG Student Leader
Staffing changes included welcoming a new Director of Student Leadership & Involvement, Erica
Andersen in January 2019. This has been an opportunity for the department to be reflective and aware
with processes, procedures, programming, and more as we lean into becoming more strategic and
intentional with all initiatives.
2
I. OVERVIEW
a. Accomplishments Student Leadership & Involvement had an eventful year in all areas of the department. A few of the
major accomplishments included; an extremely successful and collaborative Women’s Leadership
Summit, many creative and innovative student-led programs in the student government (ASUU), the
implementation of a new safety statement in University syllabi (student-led in ASUU in conjunction with
Academic Senate), the creation of two new programs “ORG” (Organization Resource Group) to support
550+ student organizations, and “Involvement Ambassadors” (IA) to support students in getting
involved. These are just a few of the many accomplishments in the department, which will be discussed
in further depth throughout this report.
b. One University Student Leadership & Involvement (SLI) serves as an integral part of the University of Utah student
experience. The department has the vision to empower students to be effective leaders, invested in
positive change, by serving as a clearinghouse and training ground for impactful engagement across
campus, within the community and around the world. Additionally, the values of Student-Centered,
Social Justice/Inclusion, Collaboration, Innovation, and Integrity position us to work to transform student
lives by involving the student in the learning process, valuing and affirming every identity they bring to
the community and creating curricular and co-curricular partnerships.
There are a variety of ways in which SLI contributed to advance “One University”, including:
Housing student leadership positions in liaison with each academic college (ASUU Senate and
Assembly)
Evaluation of duplicate programs, and program partnerships across the University including
o The Marriott Library (Stress Buster Week)
o Child Care & Family Resources (School Life Scholarship Committee)
o Athletics & Sustainability (Recycle Rice Eccles)
o Establishing “Campus Connect” as a platform for University Departments to utilize
o And many more collaborations and partnership across campus
c. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion SLI contributed to the advancement of equity, diversity and inclusion for students, staff and/or faculty in
the following ways: The department is actively engaged in conversations with Human Resources, the
Office of General Counsel, and Scholarships to evaluate how to enhance access to student leadership
opportunities that come with some type of stipend and/or tuition benefit. This conversation is being
evaluated as a possible change in practice. There were also a variety of programs contributing to this
goal, including SLI’s Women’s Leadership Summit, ASUU’s Conference on Diverse Excellence, and the
introduction of Social Justice/Inclusion as a value of the department for SLI.
3
II. DEPARTMENTAL CORE OBJECTIVES
There are a variety of ways in which Student Leadership & Involvement is working towards aligning with
the University of Utah’s Four Strategic Goals:
1- Develop and Transfer New Knowledge
a. SLI Staff encourage and facilitate collaboration among student leaders and faculty,
whether that is through developing strong College Student Councils with ASUU Senators,
or by developing a lecture series in which faculty have an opportunity to connect with
students outside of their college.
2- Promote Student Success to Transform Lives
a. One of the ways in which that goal is realized is through participation in high impact
programs, such as leadership and involvement opportunities in 550 Recognized Student
Organizations and Student Leadership positions in ASUU. The skills gained not only help
students develop personally and interpersonally, but serve as means to learn about and
demonstrate leadership knowledge and skills, all of which are also transferable in the
marketplace.
b. SLI participated in the University’s Giving Day, raising over $400.00 to put towards
scholarships for underrepresented students interested in developing their leadership
skills.
3- Engage Communities to Improve Health & Quality of Life
a. SLI partners with a variety of campus stakeholders each year to host the Women’s
Leadership Summit, meeting a critical need for women-identifying individuals across
campus and in the community to come together, dialogue, learn, network, and develop
new skills.
4- Ensure Long-Term Viability of the University
a. Under the guidance of a new Director, SLI has been engaging in continuous discussions
surrounding strategic planning, improving efficiencies, and a focus on gathering and
evaluating relevant data.
Departmental Core Objectives: Student Leadership & Development, Campus Engagement a. Alignment with Student Affairs: Student Engagement and Support
b. Student Leadership Conference: The Student Leadership Conference is intended to help
emerging and experienced student leaders to better understand leadership and build practical
and applicable leadership skills. It is (was) a traditional conference with breakout sessions and a
keynote speaker.
i: Goals and Outcomes: Students gain leadership knowledge and skills from workshops and
conferences , Provide events and programs for the University Community
4
1. Last year the Student Leadership Conference was held on Wednesday, November 7th from
9:00am-3:00pm at the A. Ray Olpin Student Union. The theme for the conference was “For
Students, by Students.” Student leaders from across campus came together to plan, organize,
and execute all of the components of this conference.
The conference featured workshops, speakers, and
panelists lead by students from across the University.
a. There were 29 students who signed up for the
conference, but only about 20 students came to the
event.
b. Given the low participation rates, the
department took the opportunity to engage in an
(S.W.O.T.) analysis of the program and extensive
benchmarking of similar programs among PAC-12
colleagues. The department will be trying something
drastically different in Fall 2019 using information
gathered in the evaluation process, including: Taking the
program offsite, charging a small fee to participate (with
scholarship and waiver opportunities), using an
accessible leadership model to shape curriculum, developing specific learning outcomes,
collaborating with a variety of departments on campus to show that we are “One University” and
structuring the program to be more a hands-on institute and less of a conference.
2. In discussion with AER regarding this type of program, it is difficult to measure the impact a one-time
program might have on retention. Ultimately we hope focus in on learning outcomes with this type of
program, including the use of direct quotes to highlight the program’s effectiveness.
ii: Utilization Data
Utilization Data was not collected for this program in the 2018-2019 AY. For this upcoming year,
SLI has created an assessment plan with AER, in which the details for collecting utilization data as
well as creating defined learning outcomes is a major part (for this particular program).
Departmental Core Objectives: Student Leadership & Development, Campus Engagement a. Alignment with Student Affairs: Student Engagement and Support, Inclusivity and Equity, Staff Excellence b. Women’s Leadership Summit: Women’s Leadership Summit works to increase women’s confidence as leaders by learning knowledge in leadership theory, gaining transferable skills, and learning from others’ experiences.
i: Goals and Outcomes: Students gain leadership knowledge and skills from workshops and conferences, Provide events and programs for University community
1. Last year the Women’s Leadership Summit was held on Tuesday, March 5th from 12:30pm-6:00pm at the a. Ray Olpin Student Union. The theme for this year’s summit was “Rise Up, Lift Up”.
5
The goals of the Women’s Leadership Summit were to engage a broad spectrum of voices and allow space for participants to explore what leadership means and to and learn how to harness skills that can be built on in their own lives. The highlight of the conference was the increase in overall registration numbers and interest in the conference from campus and community partners. Additionally, 14 departments sponsored a total of 22 students to attend the summit free of charge.
a. There were 330 pre-registered and 29 day-of for a total of 191 attendees. The assessment results yielded a strong desire for future conference themes to continue to focus on some combination of defining ones leadership skills and exploring intersectionality on a deeper level.
b. This data will be provided to the conference planning committee for consideration during 2020. In the past, we have not done learning outcomes for this conference, but SLI will be moving in this direction to show if we are meeting the goals of the program.
ii: Utilization Data Utilization Data was not collected for this program in the 2018-2019 AY. For this upcoming year, SLI has created an assessment plan with AER, in which the details for collecting utilization data as well as creating defined learning outcomes is a major part (for this particular program).
Departmental Core Objectives: Student Leadership & Development, Campus Engagement a. Alignment with Student Affairs: Student Engagement and Support b. Student Leadership Awards (SLI Program)
i. Goals and Outcomes: Students gain leadership knowledge and skills from workshops and conferences, Provide events and programs for University Community
1. The Student Leadership Awards are typically held in April each year to celebrate various student leaders in our campus community.
a. This year, Student Leadership & Involvement gathered a group of individuals from around to campus to discuss ideas, needs, and possible future direction of the Leadership Awards. Areas that were represented included: Student Leadership & Involvement, Associated Students of the University of Utah, Veterans Support Center, Office of the Dean of Students (Athletic Advocate), Women’s Enrollment Initiative, Student Union, Center for Ethnic Student Affairs, American Indian Resource Center, College of Mines & Earth Sciences, and the Bennion Center. It was determined that there was quite a bit of overlap and redundancy as many
6
of these areas already have their own award or scholarship celebration ceremonies.
b. For the 2018-2019 Academic Year, the Student Leadership Awards were put on hold in an effort not to replicate what many peer departments were already working on. Alternatively, a small group gathered to celebrate graduates of the Leadership Studies Minor in April 2019 to recognize these students for their achievement. The vision for the event in the 2019-2020 Academic Year is continuing to evolve but will involve a greater focus on recognition and achievements of the 550 Recognized Student Organizations on campus.
Departmental Core Objectives: Student Leadership & Development, Campus Engagement a. Alignment with Student Affairs: Student Engagement and Support, Inclusivity and Equity b. Conference on Diverse Excellence (ASUU Student Led Program)
i: Goals and Outcomes: Students gain leadership knowledge and skills from workshops and conferences , Provide events and programs for University community 1. Conference on Diverse Excellence (CODE), which was sponsored by ASUU with support from LGBT Resource Center and the Bennion Center, took place on Friday, February 1st in the University Union. The Keynote speaker was Blair Imani. Imani is a writer, social justice activist, mental health advocate and historian. As a Black, Queer Muslim, she is the official ambassador of Muslims for Progressive Values, one of the oldest progressive Muslim organizations to support the LGBTQ+ community. She is also the writer of the bestselling book "Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History"
a. In addition to the keynote, there were workshops, panels, service activity, mental health corners and STI testings. Overall, there were over 80 registered for the conference and 100 in attendance at the Keynote. CODE assessment respondents indicated that after attending the conference they were more aware of how they can personally impact positive change at the University and that there is a need continued discussion around topics of diversity and inclusion.
b. This data will be provided to the future student ASUU Diversity Director for consideration during 2020. In the past, we have not done learning outcomes for this conference, but SLI will be moving in this direction to show if we are meeting the goals of the program.
ii: Utilization Data Utilization Data was not collected for this program in the 2018-2019 AY. For this upcoming year, SLI has created an assessment plan with AER, in which the details for collecting utilization data as well as creating defined learning outcomes is a major part (for this particular program).
Departmental Core Objectives: Student Leadership & Development, Campus Engagement a. Alignment with Student Affairs: Student Engagement and Support b. Associated Students of the University of Utah (ASUU)
i: Goals and Outcomes: Practice of leadership skills through organization involvement and engagement, Provide events and programs for University Community
7
1. The staff within ASUU not only provide advisement for over 150 student leaders involved in student government, but also support and provide resources to the 550+ recognized student organizations on campus. While this advisement is not academic in nature, it often serves as a relevant connection to campus resources and support systems for these students. In turn, students are able to expose their friends and peers to those connections. These types of relationships grow over time and become mentoring relationships not only staff-to-student, but also student-to-student. This year, professional staff worked to help our student leaders create effective change on campus and to provide meaningful and transparent support for the student body.
a. There have not been internal ASUU Assessments done in the past, but this is part of the annual assessment plan for the future. For this upcoming year, SLI has created an assessment plan with AER, in which the details for collecting utilization data as well as creating defined learning outcomes is a major part (for this particular program
ii: Utilization Data Some demographic reports have been run for these ASUU student leadership positions. Student Leadership & Involvement will continue to evaluate how these demographic reports compare to the Common Data Set as we work towards an inclusive and welcoming community for all students. In the past, Student Leadership & Involvement tried to track ASUU events each Academic Year, including the date, event name, which ASUU Board sponsored the event, and any Student Affairs Learning Domains we assumed the event touched. While we found this process to give a general idea of student-led events and the type of learning we hoped occurred at those events, we were not collecting actual data on student learning. The 2018-2019 year was used to engage in extensive benchmarking efforts, particularly among our Pac 12 institutions, asking questions about how student led events are being assessed, in particular the learning outcomes of those events. It is our hope that by Spring 2019 we will have a process in place for the assessment and evaluation of student led events, and a method for measuring the learning that takes place as a result. Student Leadership & Involvement is examining how to incorporate learning goals, learning outcomes, and the possible use of a “curricular approach”.
Departmental Core Objective: Campus Engagement a. Alignment with Student Affairs: Student Engagement and Support b. SLI Website, ASUU Website and Newsletter
i. Goals and Outcomes: Market engagement opportunities 1. The ASUU websites was completely redesigned in conjunction with the Web Team in University
Marketing and Communications. The ASUU Presidency was an integral part to this effort, and
ultimately the site will be much easier for students at large to navigate, and for our web team to
update on a regular basis. It is expected that the new ASUU site will go live in October 2019.
Student Leadership and Involvement is hoping to do an overhaul of the site leadership.utah.edu
and also with UMC to align the look and feel of the site, with that of the University’s in order to
become the online hub for finding leadership and involvement opportunities. The INCITE
Leadership Newsletter was bi-weekly publication that shared opportunities to get involved on
campus and the newest developments in leadership. Feedback from students, faculty, and staff
was that this newsletter felt a bit like spam, so INCITE was replaced with the ORG Newsletter.
The ORG Newsletter was created in August 2018. It goes out each month to three student
leaders per organization (1650 users). Content covers all important information relevant to
8
Recognized Student Organizations like funding deadlines, upcoming leadership trainings, and
required trainings by state law, fundraising opportunities, updates to Campus Connect, and
more.
2018-2019 ASUU Highlights
Often times financing students’ involvement and engagement opportunities can be a challenge. This
year ASUU allocated over $240,293.50 to student organization for their programs, activities and
organization. Additionally, over $229,184.47 was provided for student travel to academic and
professional conferences. All of these funds come from the ASUU Student Fee and shows students how
that the fees they pay are supporting their educational experience.
ASUU University Gift
This year’s University Gift (of 2019) was a $30,000 donation to benefit the ASUU Childcare Center
ASUU Assembly
Distributed $240,293.50 (up from $115,974.11) to 197 (up from 134) recognized student
organizations
ASUU Senate
College Student Councils funded 359 (up from 91) students for individual travel grants worth a
total of $164,636.75 (up from $15,745.11)
Senate distributed $34,563.91 (up from $17,848.60) amongst the 18 College Student Councils to
fund expenses benefiting the student experience, including:
o A CSC-hosted Welcome Back BBQ
o A CSC-hosted Student Involvement Fair to connect students to involvement opportunities
within their college
o Poster sign holders to advertise college events
o A CSC-hosted speaker series
o Support workshops for first generation and/or underrepresented graduate students
o A CSC-hosted Fall Festival
o CSC-hosted yoga classes for professional students
o Feminine hygiene products for bathrooms on the Health Sciences campus
o Food supplies for the Health Sciences Food Pantry
o CSC-branded water bottles
o Event supplies for a CSC-hosted candidate debate for ASUU legislative positions
ASUU Supreme Court
Heard a landmark case that formalized processes and established procedures for future cases,
motions, and appeals
9
Hosted the first Elections Grievance hearing since the process of adjudicating Elections
grievances moved to the Supreme Court’s purview several years prior
ASUU Legislative Branch & Presidency
Passed the following joint bills:
$22,000 to provide students with free flu shots
$50,000 to increase the ASUU Travel Fund contingency
$30,000 to the Center for Child Care and Family Resources to renovate their space
Passed the following joint resolutions:
A resolution calling on the University to recommit to its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by
2050
A resolution supporting the addition of a paragraph detailing campus safety resources to all
course syllabi
A resolution expressing support for an $11 increase to the Student Mental Health Fee
A resolution in support of increasing access to composting on campus and increasing campus use
of compostable food containers and utensils
A resolution in support of maintaining sustainable and protected public lands
A resolution calling on the University to enable digital use of UCards for building access and food
purchasing
A resolution advocating for student senators to count towards quorum in Academic Senate
Executive Committee meetings
ASUU Travel Committee
Distributed $229,184.47 in total travel funding (up from $188,345.28 last year).
ASUU Executive Cabinet
In total, the ASUU Executive Cabinet hosted 64 events (up from 61) with an estimated total of at least
2,739 attendees (up from 2,299).
o ASUU Campus Events Board: hosted 20 events, total attendance 2739 participants
o Homecoming Movie Night: 180
o Adam Rippon: 250
o Athletics - ASUU Speaking Event: 95
o Avengers 4 (Endgame): 172
o Beanies & Blankets: 60
o Bohemian Rhapsody: 210
o Captain Marvel
o Daniel Pfeiffer Speaking Event: 250
o Dive In Movie (shrek): 300
10
o Fantastic Beast Screening: 250
o Film on the Field –MUSS
o First Man Universal Movie: 270
o Green Book Films: 200 tickets were estimated to be passed out
o FYC Retreat
o Happy Death Day 2U: 200
o Lego Movie 2: 120
o Last Lecture March: 30
o Last Lecture Series 1: 30
o Last Lecture Series 3 – Cindy Furse
o Dance Marathon: 100
o ASUU Board Games: 22
ASUU Campus Relations Board: hosted 4 events
o Advocated for an updated Student Course Feedback Tool, which was approved by the
Academic Senate
o Appointed over 30 students to positions on various University committees; met with the
appointed students bimonthly to help facilitate their University committee experience
o Participated in President Watkins’ Resilient U: Healthy Relationships Working Group
ASUU Diversity Board: hosted 9 events (415 total attendees)
o Diversity Education 1: 40
o Diversity Education 2
o Diversity Education 3
o Diversity Education 4
o Artivism Gala: 60
o CODE: 150
o My Culture is Not Your Costume: 45
o Economics of Inequality: 60
o United Against White Supremacy: 100
ASUU Finance Board: hosted 5 events
ASUU Government Relations Board: hosted 10 events
o Registered over 300 people to vote
o Brought representatives of 23 different local political campaigns, ballot initiatives, and
candidates to the inaugural Campaign Carnival
o Worked with the Marriott Library to host an on-campus voting center, which received
over 2600 in-person and mail-in ballots (highest voter engagement rate of any Salt Lake
City voting center)
o Collaborated with the Hinckley Institute of Politics to earn a national Voter Friendly
Campus designation for the U from the Campus Vote Project and NASPA
ASUU Student Resources Board: (More focused on outreach than events)
o Helped at tabling events to promote ASUU
11
o Updated student discount list and shared information through marketing
o Collaborated with CSW for free flu shot initiative
o Collaborated with CSW for Sexual Assault Awareness month tabling
o Collaborated with Academic Advising Center for “Taco Bout Registration” tabling event
ASUU Student Immersion & Outreach Board: hosted 2 events (202)
o Family Movie Night (Incredibles 2) : Unknown
o USA Block Party: 200
Sustainability: hosted 12 events (1,582 attendees)
o Bike Week: 200-300
o Farmer’s Market: 500
o Earth Week: about 600-700
o Campus Tree tour: 10-15
o Earth Fest: 200-300
o Arlene Blum: 20
o Eating Animals Documentary: 40-50
o Spring Extravaganza: 300-400
o Recycle Rice Eccles: Volunteers: 182
First Year Council: hosted approximately 16 weekly meetings, but no formal campus events
Marketing
o Created marketing plans, designs, and promotions for 70 events
ASUU Elections
o Implemented a new voting system via Qualtrics that directly emailed a voting link to
every student’s UMail account
o Increased voter turnout from 1,616 to 2,546
o Filed 82 students to run for elected positions
Deputy COS
o In conjunction with the COS,
o Hosted a fall Ecab retreat
o Decorated ASUU office for Family Frightfest activity hosted by UPC
o Fall Executive branch retreat-Paint Mixer & Lunch
o Spring ASUU All Retreat-Bowling
o Spring Ecab Retreat-Color Me Mine
Attorney General
o Created a formalized process for requesting interpretations of the ASUU Constitution and
Bylaws (collectively known as Redbook), in order to establish written records of
precedent for future ASUU student leaders’ use
Departmental Core Objective: Student Leadership & Development a. Alignment with Student Affairs: Student Engagement and Support
12
b. Student Employment: Student Leadership & Involvement provides a few different types of
student employment, as outlined below.
i. Goals and outcomes: Provide opportunities for student employment, ASUU leadership and involvement
compliments their academic experience
1. Student Leadership & Involvement:
a. Kayla Kingsley served as a Leadership Intern. Her responsibilities included marketing and
graphic design for the Student Leadership Conference, the Women’s Leadership Summit,
Involvement Guide, and brochure for the department.
b. While this was a great opportunity for this intern, the needs of SLI extend beyond graphic
design, so these types of projects will be outsourced. For the upcoming AY, we have created
three new student positions (Involvement Ambassadors for the upcoming year) to focus on a
greater connection and access to student involvement. SLI will measure the accuracy of this
program, and consult with AER to determine methods to measure retention, graduation, and
GPA.
2. Associated Students of the University of Utah:
a. Student employment in ASUU includes over 100 paid leadership positions (elected and
appointed) and 2-3 paid front desk positions. The trend of less turnover and more consistency at
the front desk continued due to increased one-on-one training of front desk staff and
understanding of a newly introduced policy and procedure guide. In order to more effectively
retain ASUU elected and appointed student leaders, train on ASUU policy and procedures, and
familiarize student leaders with advisement staff, training was changed from one day to two
days in the spring semester. Recommendations for future student leaders training will include
moving to a mandatory training, adding in an additional day to effectively cover materials, and
potentially taking the training off-site.
With a better understanding of the number of organizations and the needs of community,
Student Leadership & Involvement established a new program in collaboration with ASUU, the
Organization Resource Group (ORG), comprised of student employees to oversee the various
aspects of student organizations, such as ushering students organizations through the new
recognition process, educating student leaders about University policy and resources, consulting
with organizations on how to meet their goals, developing a monthly ORG newsletter, and
providing training on the online organization management platform. The team was comprised of
two paid student employees and one Larry H. Miller Scholar. On the appointment scheduler
system and ORG calendar, ORG met with over 100 student organizations leaders for OrgSync
Help, Fundraising Brainstorming, and New Student Organization Orientation. The peer-to-peer
model of student training and leadership development is a high-impact practice for student
development and having ORG has a team of student solely dedicated to a RSO community of this
size has already shown a big impact.
b. Although we do not have statistical data that supports this, anecdotally, we know that ASUU
students learn to better manage their time and are more connected to the University. We check
13
GPA’s each semester to ensure students meet the minimum requirement of a 2.5 cumulative
grade point average (required by Redbook). Advisement has assisted in identifying students who
are becoming overly involved to assist them in determining priorities to avoid their extra-
curricular and co-curricular activities from having a negative impact on their GPA. This upcoming
year, we will be exploring collaborating with AER & OBIA to get a better view of how this
experience is contributing to academic success, retention, and learning outcomes.
Retired and New Programs in this Key Objective:
ULEAD Leadership Certificate Program, an SLI Program (Retired)
The ULEAD Leadership Certificate program was retired in 2018-2019. Given the low participation
numbers of this program, this past year Student Leadership & Involvement engaged in an (S.W.O.T.)
analysis of the program and engaged in extensive benchmarking efforts among our PAC 12 colleagues to
determine possible alternatives.
Lunch and Lead, an SLI Program (New)
A new initiative that is launching in the spring of 2020 is a leadership brown bag lunch series that will be
branded as Lunch and Lead. This will be a monthly hour to hour and a half long session focusing on
leadership in different contexts from learning about individual leadership styles to understanding
leadership in different societal, intersectional, and social justice constructs. Each month will focus on a
different topic and will be a collaborative effort with many campus partners who will share their
expertise for these sessions. We hope that students from across campus will attend the monthly
sessions and that they will apply the newly gained knowledge to their own leadership journey.
Departmental Core Objective: Student Organization Support
a. Alignment with Student Affairs: Student Engagement and Support, Inclusivity and Equity
b. Recognized Student Organizations: To further continue implementation and growth of Rule 6-
401A (Recognized Student Organization Policy), under the purview of the inaugural Student
Organizations Coordinator, the Recognized Student Organizations (RSO) community saw a
number of big and exciting changes and accomplishments.
14
i. Goals and outcomes: Provide training and information for student organizations and advisors, Students
gain leadership skills from direct advisement, ASUU represents, and funds student activities and/or
organizations
1. In order to better understand the scope of the RSO community, the Students Organizations
Coordinator cleaned-up the data on OrgSync by deleting organization profiles that were inactive for
more than two years.
a. The results from this data clean-up decreased the number of organizations profiles (in order to
get a more accurate picture of our active RSO user community) from 1182 to 503 active
organization profiles. In June of 2018, there were only 16, 627 users on the OrgSync platform. By
June of 2019, the number of users increased to 20,740, which is a 25% increase.
b. For New Student Organization Recognition, ORG established a “Recognition Period” Process,
which retired rolling recognition and required prospective organizations to submit an application
within specific 2-week windows and attend an in-person information session before applying and
an orientation if approved. At 18 information sessions, ORG recorded 98 attendees. During the
2018-2019 academic year, ORG received 99 applications, approved 90, denied 9, and 76 of them
completed the full recognition process. Organizations recognized utilizing this process were
more likely to be active on OrgSync in terms of posting events, tracking attendance at their
meetings, managing their rosters, and actively logging into the system. Under the direction of
the Student Organizations Coordinator, the renewal period for currently recognized
organizations was communicated across campus with a variety of different strategic methods.
From a year’s worth of relationship building, brand building for the ORG team, and increased
communications with the RSO community, the number of organizations who completed a
renewal request by the deadline was 319, which is a 168% increase from the previous year (119
during renewal period in 2017-2018). To build onto this incredible work and start the
development of required student organization training, Student Leadership & Involvement re-
added the Graduate Assistant for Student Organizations onto the purview of the Student
Organizations Coordinator (who will start in August 2019). Lastly, Student Leadership &
Involvement successfully oversaw the migration process from OrgSync to the upgraded
CampusLabs product Engage. In addition to all the collaboration with campus partners, the
Student Leadership & Involvement professional staff completed the full training series (total
number). The Student Organizations Coordinator and ORG built out the system and resources to
fit the culture and full needs of the department and the university. After discussion among ORG
Student Leaders and SLI Staff, the department chose to brand this platform as “Campus
Connect”.
2. The number of student organizations is currently at approximately 550, the exact number fluctuating
dependent on the time of year and the reactivation process. Registering a student organization allows
the group to be searched for and seen by any potential members who want to join. It also allows access
to apply for ASUU funding, leadership development, drop-in advising, free tabling events and reduced-
cost advertising. As Student Leadership and Involvement has just recently been able to get an accurate
15
idea of who our RSO’s are, we are now at a point where we can start evaluating the impact these groups
might have on retention, graduation, GPA, sense of belonging, and skill development. This includes
collecting more detailed utilization data through the SB 134 mandatory training tracker.
ii. Utilization Data (please see the KPI Chart Below)
KPI FY16 (if known)
FY17 (if known)
Goal or Target
FY18 Supporting Notes
Number of Student Organizations Profiles
1073 1182 600 693 These numbers include profiles that had been disabled, not necessarily deleted. This KPI does not reflect the number of active RSOs.
Number of active Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs)
N/a N/a 600 550 Lack of clean data on OrgSync made it unclear how many active RSOs there were in previous years
Number of New Student
Organizations Recognized
174 108 50 76 First year implementing New Student
Organization Recognition Process.
Rolling Recognition → 3 Recognition
Periods.
Number of Total Attendees
at New Student Org Info
Sessions
N/a N/a 100 98 NSO Info Sessions are a part of the
new Recognition Period Policy. 18 total
info sessions were held in FY18.
Number of Organization
Profiles Removed/Deleted
N/a N/a 500 489 OrgSync Data Clean-up gives SLI a
clearer picture of how many
organizations are actually recognized
by the University and in good standing
with SLI.
Retention of Recognized
Organizations after 2 years
N/A N/A N/A ORG will be tracking retention rate of
organizations recognized with new
policy.
Number of New Student
Organizations Completing
Annual Requirements by
the deadline*
N/A 119 500 319 *Completion of Renewal Request was
only requirement FY16-18.
168% increase from FY17 to FY18 in
successful renewal by June 1 deadline
KPI FY16 (if known)
FY17 (if known)
Goal or Target
FY18 Supporting Notes
16
Number of ORG
Appointments
N/A N/a 100 100 Data collected from Cranium Café &
ORG Outlook Calendar
Number of Staff Solely
Dedicated to RSO
Management
N/a 1 2 4 With the addition the Student
Organizations Coordinator, SLI hired
the ORG team and re-added the
Graduate Assistant.
Number of ORG Student
Staff
N/a N/a 3 3 Two hourly paid ORG students and one
Larry H. Miller Scholar.
Number of OrgSync Users
at end of FYx
12,925 16,627 20,000 20,847
Number of Involvement
Ambassadors hired
N/a N/a 3 3 Three Involvement Ambassadors hired
to start services in FY19. More KPIs to
be established after team has a year of
services.
FY16-17 FY17-18 FY 18-19
Type of Funding Amount Amount Amount
Student Organization Funding $147,247.05 $140,518.44 $286,240.01
Travel $116,926.65 $188,345.28 $229,184.47
Sport Club Fund $6,300.60 $2,014.85 $1,868.52
College Readership Program $187,512.54 $160,320.51 $186,875.45
Emergency Student Loans $1,250.00 $1,500.00 $1,000.00
Childcare Scholarships $5,545.00 $8,641.00 $8,426.00
Departmental Support $102,381.28 $94,123.85 $208,645.39
Campus Events Board $444,993.84 $403,693.95 $197,536.95
Executive Cabinet Initiatives $151,805.41 $241,661.91 $80,279.58
Retired and New Programs in this Key Objective:
National Society of Leadership & Success (Retired as an SLI Affiliated Group)
Upon thorough review of a new direction that The National Society of Leadership & Success (NSLS) was
heading, after careful consideration it was determined to no longer house the student organization as
an Affiliated Student Organization within Student Leadership & Involvement. NSLS is still an active and
recognized “Registered Student Organization” on campus with active student members, but as of the
close of the 2018-2019 Academic Year, SLI changed their classification to “Registered” from “Affiliated”.
Mortar Board Honor Society (New)
17
Student Leadership & Involvement is looking forward to welcoming Mortar Board Honor Society as an
Affiliated Student Organization within Student Leadership & Involvement at the start of the 2019-2020
Academic Year.
Leadership Studies Minor (Retired as an SLI Program)
The Leadership Studies Minor utilizes expertise and courses throughout the university community in an
effort to provide students with a variety of opportunities to explore leadership philosophies, theories,
case examples, and practices. The Minor has been co-coordinated by Student Leadership & Involvement
and Undergraduate Studies in the past. At the start of the Spring 2019 semester, it was determined that
as the program continued to grow, the ability for SLI to continue engaging in academic advising and
coordination of the program was not a sustainable plan. The Leadership Studies Minor was completely
moved over to Undergraduate Studies as of June 2019, enabling SLI to focus on expanding involvement
and leadership programs, rather than academic programs. SLI intends to remain a strong supporter and
partner of the minor, specifically by participating in teaching opportunities, and by providing internship
sites for students in the minor.
Provide for-credit academic exploration of Leadership
There were 23 students being tracked within the Minor, including the students in the Minor at the
University of Utah Asia Campus (UAC). The three core classes in the minor include LDRSP 2020:
Foundations in Leadership, LDRSP 4100: Field Experience Seminar, and LDRSP 4750: Leadership
Capstone.
The graph below show the number the number of enrolled students over the past 6 years. There was a
slight increase in enrollment over the last year. In the 2018-2019 academic year, 7 completed the
Leadership Studies Minor.
18
Instructors
During the 2018-2019 academic year professional staff taught the core classes in the Leadership Studies
Minor. This allowed for some positive aspects, including giving professional staff an opportunity to
engage in the classroom. Student Leadership & Involvement staff who taught courses were paid per
course, in addition to their base salary.
Course Instructor Semester(s) Offered
LDRSP 2020: Foundations of Leadership Programming Advisor Spring
Legislative Advisor Fall
LDRSP 4100: Practicum Associate Director Fall
LDRSP 4750: Leadership Capstone Director Spring
Course Current Rate
LDRSP 2020: Foundations of Leadership $1,000 / course
LDRSP 4100: Field Experience $600 / course
LDRSP 4750: Leadership Capstone $1,000 / course
Departmental Core Objective: Office Operations a. Alignment with Student Affairs: Student Engagement and Support, Facilities and Resource
Management
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Course Enrollment: Leadership Studies Minor
LDRSP 2020 LDRSP 4100 LDRSP 4750
19
b. Office Operations: Maintain a functional office for dedicated to serving students in student
leadership and involvement opportunities
i. Goals and outcomes: Maintain a functional office for dedicated to serving students in student leadership
and involvement opportunities
1. Student Leadership Involvement Office
a. The addition of the Student Leadership & Involvement Office (Union 248) has been a positive
investment. It has made the director accessible to students who have questions or scheduled
appointments, while also increasing departmental communication between Student Leadership
& Involvement staff due to the close proximity of offices. The front reception desk is currently
unstaffed. In the interim, Involvement Ambassadors work in the SLI suite reception area,
conducting consultations with students seeking involvement opportunities. When they are not in
the office, the suite light is on and the door is open for students, staff, and campus partners to
stop by. The hope for the future would be to have a full-time staff member in a coordinator role
to support leadership program development, and also to assist in supporting individuals who
come by the office.
b. In the meantime, as the reception area is not being used to its full capacity, this space will be
reimagined using existing furniture so that it is more of a welcoming lounge space for students to
utilize for involvement consultations, a space to take advantage of the leadership library, and
even a place to simply “stop by” for those interested in getting involved or learning more about
leadership.
III. Plan for the Future
a. Anticipated challenges: Student Involvement is growing rapidly at the University of Utah, so
keeping up with that growth in a sustainable and intentional way is important. The
implementation of University Rule 6-401A has been helpful in setting expectations and
boundaries for Recognized Student Organizations, however unique issues continue to surface
(mostly in areas that are not under SLI’s direct purview, calling for more education among
campus partners about what the policy means for them in their work). SLI will continue to
address these on a case by case basis and work to proactively educate campus collaborators.
Funding alignment for RSO support is another area that may be a challenge in future years as
the number of RSO’s continues to grow, and our funding and reimbursement processes
become more efficient.
b. Anticipated opportunities: The way student organizations are being managed is
fundamentally changing. Previously, the only focus has been on registration. Now focus has
shifted to student organization support. Critiques of constitutions are not to enforce our
20
regulations, but to better assist student organizations in creating their own infrastructure for
self-management. In the upcoming year, focus has shifted to streamlining the registration
and renewal process, making connections with campus partners, and providing meaningful
training resources for student organizations. The students involved with ASUU are starting to
get a different understanding of ASUU. They are starting to embrace other portions of
ASUU’s services other than programming and funding. With this mentality, the students will
be able to better aid their students, because they understand the service and advocacy that
ASUU was created to provide. SLI is extremely excited about the 2020 Housing Project, and
how our programs can lend support in creating a sense of belonging and community through
many of our daytime and evening programs. For the past nine months, SLI has made an
effort to brand itself with the programs that are unique to the department and outside of the
realm of student government. There is great opportunity to develop learning outcomes for
all SLI programs (including the leadership retreats and conferences, RSO’s, and ASUU). This is
no small task, but our department recognizes the need for this to exist.
c. Any gifts/new revenue: SLI received a gift from Goldman Sachs and Wayfair for the Women’s
Leadership Summit. SLI also participated in the University of Utah’s Annual Giving Day, raising
over $400.00 to put towards scholarships for underrepresented students seeking leadership
opportunities.
IV. Staff Excellence
Departmental Core Objective: Professional Development of Staff a. Alignment with Student Affairs: Student Engagement and Support, Staff Excellence b. Professional Development Plans, Department Retreats: Provide opportunities for professional development opportunities for campus community, Create a culture of professional development with department staff
With a new director, a retreat was held in mid-March for the team to get to know one another, develop
our strengths, and discuss strategic planning. Each staff member played a role in planning the retreat,
whether through arranging food, choosing the activity, location, or planning a team builder and getting
to know you activities. Each member of the team received an individualized report on the Clifton
Strengths (top five), and certified Strengths Facilitator joined to guide the team through a series of
conversations about how to work from a strengths based perspective on a team. In late January, SLI
launched a new Professional Development Plan tracker in collaboration with HR (using the UUPM
system). Team members received one on one guidance for the development of professional goals using
the NASPA and ACPA professional competencies. Each member of the team was encouraged to submit a
proposal for a professional development plan and any needed funding to support their goals, for the
upcoming year. This was the first time a plan of this type had been launched, and enabled the
department to better support all staff in this objective, ensuring that all folks who desired to engage in a
professional development opportunity, had the chance to.
Awards and Recognitions
21
STAFF AWARDS and RECOGNITONS
Jessica See Outstanding Hustle Award (for Giving Day Participation) Central Development Office
Abby Feenstra Student Affairs Diversity Council Certificate
Committee Memberships
STAFF COMMITTEE
Isael Torres Woke in the Workplace, Career and Professional Development Center
Esther Narkie Okang Black Cultural Center Coordinator, Search Committee
Isael Torres Black Cultural Center Coordinator, Search Committee
Esther Narkie Okang Do It For the Culture Committee
Isael Torres PDC Winter Retreat Planning Committee
Isael Torres Student Behavior Committee
Abby Feenstra Student Media Committee
Abby Feenstra COSA (Committee on Student Affairs)
Abby Feenstra ACUI Joint Regional Conference Planning Team (Regions 3 & 4)
Abby Feenstra School Life Scholarship Committee (Child Care)
Erica Andersen COSA (Committee on Student Affairs)
Erica Andersen Black Cultural Center Director, Search Committee
Abby Feenstra SLI Director, Search Committee
Jessica Ashcraft NASPA Student Govt. Knowledge Community (KC)
Additional Information:
Professionalism (Conferences Attended, Training)
Name of Conference Attendee(s)
Utah Leadership Academy (ULA) Esther Narkie Okang, Isael Torres, Abby Feenstra- Presenter
Utah NASPA Isael Torres
ACUI Annual (International) Abby Feenstra
UPSIL Abby Feenstra
Utah Naspa Abby Feenstra
Utah Women Higher Ed. Network (UWHEN)
Abby Feenstra
National NASPA Jessica Ashcraft
22
New Hires Erica Andersen, Director, Student Leadership & Involvement
Advising & Mentoring The staff within ASUU not only provide advisement for over 150 student leaders involved in student
government, but also support and provide resources to the 600 registered student organizations on
campus. While this advisement is not academic in nature, it often serves as a relevant connection to
campus resources and support systems for these students, which in turn, they are able to expose their
friends and peers to those connections. These types of relationships grow over time and become
mentoring relationships not only staff-to-student, but also student-to-student.