Describe your career path, how you started and how you got to your current position.
My career path is probably different than 99% of those in the Student Union and Student Affairs field. Most Union Directors followed the union facility management career path or the student activities career path with the majority most likely having student activities and programming backgrounds. I spent 22 years in the military with the first 7 years being in the intelligence area, the second 7 years in the Morale, Welfare & Recreation area, and the last 7 years in command and joint operations. The middle of my military career best represents the type of work I do today as I managed Officer Clubs, NCO/Enlisted Clubs, Golf Courses, bowling alleys, liquor stores, and other auxiliary and business operations. During this phase of my career, the Army sent me to FIU to get a Masters Degree in Hospitality Management (Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism). It was also during that time that I had the lead in the design, construction, and opening of a new Officer’s Club at Fort Jackson, SC which was a good learning experience for what I recently experienced when I was one of the lead players in the design, construction and opening of the new Marshall Student Center. My other military assignments also had some similarity to the Student Affairs work that I do today as the Army predominately consists of young adults in the 18 – 25 year group, so leading, managing and supporting this young adult population is something I have done all my life. Additionally, many of my army assignments were at Army bases whose missions were predominately focused on the schooling and training of soldiers and officers, and the academic and professional development of young soldiers is quite similar to the university mission.
After my Army Career, I spent one year working as an Assistant General Manager at the Hershey Country Club in Chocolate City, USA. I then moved to Tampa where I worked five years as the first professional staff manager assigned to USF’s Student Government and five years as the Operations Director of the old Marshall Student Center. I have served as the Marshall Student Center’s Director for the past 4 ½ years.
Explain the particular challenges of your work. What are the special rewards?
My challenges in Student Affairs have been numerous with lots of unique experiences and many rewards. My time with Student Government was truly different as it started out being the “unwanted” administrator but ended with being liked and respected by the students and totally transforming the organization from one with no financial accountability to a SG organization that was considered the State’s leader in Student Government financial accountability. The hours demanded by the SG Director’s position were long due to limited staff. During the five years with SG, I managed to add two additional staff members to handle all of SG’s HR, Payroll, finance and budgeting, property, and other administrative functions. When I left SG, there were three staff members and three students in the SG Business Office and today the staff is significantly larger. After five years of reviewing Student Organizations’ budgets I was excited when a new opportunity presented itself and I was thrilled to take over Operations of the Marshall Student Center. In this new position I was able to continue to work with students and to continue my work with Student Government to bring a new Student Center to USF.
My time as Operations Director of the old MSC was busy as I was involved in refurbishing every room in the old center in the first few years of taking over that position. The old MSC was one of the first buildings built on campus but because of its mission it had to be maintained in a high state of cleanliness and repair and it had to be attractive to support conferences/meetings as well as serve as the living room for the students. Maintaining a 50 year old building whose infrastructure was deteriorating and crumbling was quite a challenge and I spent many nights and early mornings wading in water as the plumbing systems continued to fail knowing that any money spent to fix the plumbing, HVAC, and elevator systems along with the roof with 52 major leaks would be wasted as the vision of the new center was only a few years away.
Bringing the vision of a New Student Center to reality was a major challenge. The work began in 1999 and dedication of the new center did not occur till 10 years later. Red Tape, political debates at the state level, governance changes at the state and university level, and financial challenges threw up many roadblocks to getting the new center done. The reward for doing a gazillion PowerPoint presentations and town halls, tweaking the financial bonding calculations over and over again, and spending countless hours with architects and construction managers was opening a great facility for the USF community. The challenge of transforming operations from an old, small, laid back student center to a large, complex and very busy student center and conference center has not been easy and it has taken us two years and many staffing changes to make this happen. We still have a ways to go but we are on the right track and we are moving full speed ahead.
Are there any problems you've faced that you would now handle differently? Can you describe one of them?
In follow-up to the last question pertaining to the transformation of operations from the old center to the new center; if I had to do it over again with hindsight vision, I would have been more assertive and aggressive in ensuring that the correct number of people were on board to make the transformation more successful. Because of the budget situation at USF at the time we opened the building, the climate was not favorable to get additional personnel, and to get additional money for staff who were now being asked to do more. It also took some time to realize that some existing staff were not prepared or conducive to make the transformation from the old ways of doing things to the new fast pace, busy, and higher expectation environment. Additionally, opening the building months before we were actually ready (no keys, ½ furniture not delivered, AV equipment not installed, etc.) did not help. Because many key staff were still focused on getting the new building finished and clearing out the old building so that it could be torn down and the new outdoor plaza built, they were unable to dedicate their full energy on figuring out how to operate the new facility and adequately train a whole new student staff. The first year truly burnt out many of our good staff and morale was low after the first year.
What advice would you give to a student preparing for student affairs work?
·Be patient; some things take way too long to get done.
·Be flexible; you will often be tasked to do things very quickly even before anyone has had time to think it out.
·Be prepared for change. Some change is for the better; some for the worse; but change is inevitable in growing organizations.
·Learn how to smile and look to the positive side. There will be things that you don’t agree with, don’t understand, but that’s life. Provide your input and professional assessment, and go with the flow.
· Never lose your passion to improve the lives of students.
1.) Describe your career path, how you started and how you got to your current position.
Manchester College (1984-1986) I started as a Bachelor level Hall Director working at my undergraduate institution which was only about 1000 students.
Miami University (1986-1989) After two years’ time, I decided I needed to go to graduate school and attended Miami University in Ohio (the FIRST Miami)! I stayed on full time one year after graduating and worked in a unique position where I served as a hall director and also the academic advisor to the students in my hall.
Emory University (1989-1995) I left there and went to Emory University as an Area Coordinator supervising 5 halls and graduate student hall directors (but not in CSA or Education—typically theology students, law students, public health, etc.) After 3 years I became an Assistant Director with responsibilities for assignments, coordinating programming, and advising RHA. I stayed in that role 3 years and decided I wanted to go back to the Midwest and be a director at a smaller school.
DePauw University (1995-1998) I became the Director of Residence Life at DePauw University. I stayed there for 3 years, and remembered that I didn’t like cold weather and small towns. It also was the job for which there was the least “fit” between me and the institution. Idid a job search in the southeast and…
University of South Florida (1998-present) Ended up at USF where I was the Assistant and then Associate Director of Housing for 10 years overseeing assignments, marketing, and conferences. When our Director left in 2008, I became the Interim Director and eventually the permanent Director.
2.) Explain the particular challenges of your work. What are the special rewards?
Challenges:
Dealing with the 24/7 nature of the work Aging facilities and how to address them Often serve as the “cash cow” for other parts of the university Responding to increased demand for amenities
Special Rewards:
Housing = fun Can really see students change and grow Get the “whole student” experience LOTS of variety. Experience in many different venues
3.) Are there any problems you've faced that you would now handle differently? Can you describe one of them?
Wow…lots! I once took a job where I ignored a lot of red flags. I thought I could change the culture. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what was being asked and there was little support for that change. In retrospect I can see where I should never have taken the job and should have known it wasn’t a good fit, but I was too young and maybe idealistic at the time to recognize it.
Because my nature is to assume everything will work out for the best, I sometimes have a tendency not to recognize problems in their infancy—but allow them to fester before addressing.
4.) What advice would you give to a student preparing for student affairs work?
Recognize it is a service profession and thus will require things from you that sometimes feel burdensome. On the flip side, it’s a profession that allows for a great deal of flexibility.
Get some housing experience, advise an Alternative Spring Break trip, go on a retreat with students—find a way to spend time with them in a way that introduces you to their life beyond academics or even USF. It is educational to get out of your comfort zone and “live” with students in some capacity for some time.
Figure out what makes a good fit between you, a university, and a department. Do you need a lot of structure or a little? Do you need a lot of variety or are you more comfortable in a position where you can pretty much predict what you will be doing that day? Do you prefer the energy and variety and diversity that comes from a larger institution or the intimacy and community that may come from a smaller one?
Joe Synovec's answer to question 1:
ReplyDeleteDescribe your career path, how you started and how you got to your current position.
My career path is probably different than 99% of those in the Student Union and Student Affairs field. Most Union Directors followed the union facility management career path or the student activities career path with the majority most likely having student activities and programming backgrounds. I spent 22 years in the military with the first 7 years being in the intelligence area, the second 7 years in the Morale, Welfare & Recreation area, and the last 7 years in command and joint operations. The middle of my military career best represents the type of work I do today as I managed Officer Clubs, NCO/Enlisted Clubs, Golf Courses, bowling alleys, liquor stores, and other auxiliary and business operations. During this phase of my career, the Army sent me to FIU to get a Masters Degree in Hospitality Management (Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism). It was also during that time that I had the lead in the design, construction, and opening of a new Officer’s Club at Fort Jackson, SC which was a good learning experience for what I recently experienced when I was one of the lead players in the design, construction and opening of the new Marshall Student Center. My other military assignments also had some similarity to the Student Affairs work that I do today as the Army predominately consists of young adults in the 18 – 25 year group, so leading, managing and supporting this young adult population is something I have done all my life. Additionally, many of my army assignments were at Army bases whose missions were predominately focused on the schooling and training of soldiers and officers, and the academic and professional development of young soldiers is quite similar to the university mission.
After my Army Career, I spent one year working as an Assistant General Manager at the Hershey Country Club in Chocolate City, USA. I then moved to Tampa where I worked five years as the first professional staff manager assigned to USF’s Student Government and five years as the Operations Director of the old Marshall Student Center. I have served as the Marshall Student Center’s Director for the past 4 ½ years.
Joe's response to question 2:
ReplyDeleteExplain the particular challenges of your work. What are the special rewards?
My challenges in Student Affairs have been numerous with lots of unique experiences and many rewards. My time with Student Government was truly different as it started out being the “unwanted” administrator but ended with being liked and respected by the students and totally transforming the organization from one with no financial accountability to a SG organization that was considered the State’s leader in Student Government financial accountability. The hours demanded by the SG Director’s position were long due to limited staff. During the five years with SG, I managed to add two additional staff members to handle all of SG’s HR, Payroll, finance and budgeting, property, and other administrative functions. When I left SG, there were three staff members and three students in the SG Business Office and today the staff is significantly larger. After five years of reviewing Student Organizations’ budgets I was excited when a new opportunity presented itself and I was thrilled to take over Operations of the Marshall Student Center. In this new position I was able to continue to work with students and to continue my work with Student Government to bring a new Student Center to USF.
My time as Operations Director of the old MSC was busy as I was involved in refurbishing every room in the old center in the first few years of taking over that position. The old MSC was one of the first buildings built on campus but because of its mission it had to be maintained in a high state of cleanliness and repair and it had to be attractive to support conferences/meetings as well as serve as the living room for the students. Maintaining a 50 year old building whose infrastructure was deteriorating and crumbling was quite a challenge and I spent many nights and early mornings wading in water as the plumbing systems continued to fail knowing that any money spent to fix the plumbing, HVAC, and elevator systems along with the roof with 52 major leaks would be wasted as the vision of the new center was only a few years away.
Bringing the vision of a New Student Center to reality was a major challenge. The work began in 1999 and dedication of the new center did not occur till 10 years later. Red Tape, political debates at the state level, governance changes at the state and university level, and financial challenges threw up many roadblocks to getting the new center done. The reward for doing a gazillion PowerPoint presentations and town halls, tweaking the financial bonding calculations over and over again, and spending countless hours with architects and construction managers was opening a great facility for the USF community. The challenge of transforming operations from an old, small, laid back student center to a large, complex and very busy student center and conference center has not been easy and it has taken us two years and many staffing changes to make this happen. We still have a ways to go but we are on the right track and we are moving full speed ahead.
Joe's response to questions 3 and 4:
ReplyDeleteAre there any problems you've faced that you would now handle differently? Can you describe one of them?
In follow-up to the last question pertaining to the transformation of operations from the old center to the new center; if I had to do it over again with hindsight vision, I would have been more assertive and aggressive in ensuring that the correct number of people were on board to make the transformation more successful. Because of the budget situation at USF at the time we opened the building, the climate was not favorable to get additional personnel, and to get additional money for staff who were now being asked to do more. It also took some time to realize that some existing staff were not prepared or conducive to make the transformation from the old ways of doing things to the new fast pace, busy, and higher expectation environment. Additionally, opening the building months before we were actually ready (no keys, ½ furniture not delivered, AV equipment not installed, etc.) did not help. Because many key staff were still focused on getting the new building finished and clearing out the old building so that it could be torn down and the new outdoor plaza built, they were unable to dedicate their full energy on figuring out how to operate the new facility and adequately train a whole new student staff. The first year truly burnt out many of our good staff and morale was low after the first year.
What advice would you give to a student preparing for student affairs work?
·Be patient; some things take way too long to get done.
·Be flexible; you will often be tasked to do things very quickly even before anyone has had time to think it out.
·Be prepared for change. Some change is for the better; some for the worse; but change is inevitable in growing organizations.
·Learn how to smile and look to the positive side. There will be things that you don’t agree with, don’t understand, but that’s life. Provide your input and professional assessment, and go with the flow.
· Never lose your passion to improve the lives of students.
Dr. Paine's response to question 1
ReplyDelete1.) Describe your career path, how you started and how you got to your current position.
Manchester College (1984-1986)
I started as a Bachelor level Hall Director working at my undergraduate institution which was only about 1000 students.
Miami University (1986-1989)
After two years’ time, I decided I needed to go to graduate school and attended Miami University in Ohio (the FIRST Miami)! I stayed on full time one year after graduating and worked in a unique position where I served as a hall director and also the academic advisor to the students in my hall.
Emory University (1989-1995)
I left there and went to Emory University as an Area Coordinator supervising 5 halls and graduate student hall directors (but not in CSA or Education—typically theology students, law students, public health, etc.) After 3 years I became an Assistant Director with responsibilities for assignments, coordinating programming, and advising RHA. I stayed in that role 3 years and decided I wanted to go back to the Midwest and be a director at a smaller school.
DePauw University (1995-1998)
I became the Director of Residence Life at DePauw University. I stayed there for 3 years, and remembered that I didn’t like cold weather and small towns. It also was the job for which there was the least “fit” between me and the institution. Idid a job search in the southeast and…
University of South Florida (1998-present)
Ended up at USF where I was the Assistant and then Associate Director of Housing for 10 years overseeing assignments, marketing, and conferences. When our Director left in 2008, I became the Interim Director and eventually the permanent Director.
Dr. Paine's response to questions 2-4
ReplyDelete2.) Explain the particular challenges of your work. What are the special rewards?
Challenges:
Dealing with the 24/7 nature of the work
Aging facilities and how to address them
Often serve as the “cash cow” for other parts of the university
Responding to increased demand for amenities
Special Rewards:
Housing = fun
Can really see students change and grow
Get the “whole student” experience
LOTS of variety. Experience in many different venues
3.) Are there any problems you've faced that you would now handle differently? Can you describe one of them?
Wow…lots! I once took a job where I ignored a lot of red flags. I thought I could change the culture. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what was being asked and there was little support for that change. In retrospect I can see where I should never have taken the job and should have known it wasn’t a good fit, but I was too young and maybe idealistic at the time to recognize it.
Because my nature is to assume everything will work out for the best, I sometimes have a tendency not to recognize problems in their infancy—but allow them to fester before addressing.
4.) What advice would you give to a student preparing for student affairs work?
Recognize it is a service profession and thus will require things from you that sometimes feel burdensome. On the flip side, it’s a profession that allows for a great deal of flexibility.
Get some housing experience, advise an Alternative Spring Break trip, go on a retreat with students—find a way to spend time with them in a way that introduces you to their life beyond academics or even USF. It is educational to get out of your comfort zone and “live” with students in some capacity for some time.
Figure out what makes a good fit between you, a university, and a department. Do you need a lot of structure or a little? Do you need a lot of variety or are you more comfortable in a position where you can pretty much predict what you will be doing that day? Do you prefer the energy and variety and diversity that comes from a larger institution or the intimacy and community that may come from a smaller one?