The Pulse - 2026 Edition

2026

THE PULSE OACUHO’s annual publication

ONTARIO ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY HOUSING OFFICERS

ABOUT The Pulse Published 2026 The Pulse is produced by the Ontario Association of College and University Housing Officers.

About OACUHO The Ontario Association of College and University Housing Officers is a non-profit organization that advises college and universities in Ontario on residence and residence facility issues.

We are a not-for-profit organization which attaches great importance to support all facets of University and College housing operations, student success and the academic mission of the institutions in which each member serves.

We are committed to serving the needs of our members and their institutions by providing life-long learning, effective and relevant networking, and support for our membership.

The Pulse Publication Team: Communications Committee Jacob Fournier Noah Hryniuk Sam McCullough

Communication Director Alison Elford

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

President’s Message

4

2025-2026 Board of Directors

5

2026 Spring Conference

6

Welcome

6

Keynote

7

Concurrent Sessions

9

Socials

27

Closing Keynote

28

Pulse Articles

30

2026-2027 Board of Directors

39

Getting Involved

40

New Affinity Group

41

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Becky Shillington 2025-2026 President, OACUHO

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Dear Colleagues, What a year it has been.

The OACUHO Spring Conference has long been a beacon of light for me at the end of an academic year. I always feel a collective sigh of relief when we gather- as we reconnect with colleagues, recount our year, and get some time to reflect on our practice amid others who are living it.

This year I expect to hear a lot about the weight of ongoing change, the pressure of budget cuts, housing shortages, aging infrastructure, labour disruptions and reductions, and a political landscape that keeps shifting beneath our feet.

I am also hoping to hear more- how we are still innovating. Still showing up for our students and our teams- and how those students and teams are still (pleasantly) surprising us. I want to hear about how we are finding creative solutions in the spaces between what we have and what we need.

This year, OACUHO has worked to be a meaningful resource in that work through communities of practice, professional development, and finding opportunities for engagement across the province so that we always have someone to call when the bothers arise.

I've been proud to serve as your President, and I'm grateful for every conversation, every email, and every reminder Carol provided about a deadline! I want to say a sincere thank you to the 2025-2026 Board of Directors for their contributions this year- we have been able to see much of the strategic plan through, and have worked on creating more opportunities for access, engagement, development, and sustainability for the association.

As this term wraps up, I want to leave you with what I believe most: the talent, passion, and resilience in this membership is extraordinary. Our campuses are changing, our roles are evolving, and OACUHO is here to make sure none of us have to navigate that alone.

Thank you for everything you do- for your students, your institutions, and each other. I look forward to connecting with everyone at Brock, and throughout the next year as the Past President on the Board.

Sincerely, Becky

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2025-2026 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Becky Shillington

Greg Hum

Dorcas Mensah

President

Finance Director & President-Elect

Past President

Alison Elford

Victoria Medley-Parkins

Mark Mariner

Communication Director

Communities Director

Conference Director

Andrew Harris

Caroline Papple

Melissa Chaffe

Corporate Partner Director

Membership Engagement Director

Professional Development Director

Kate Murray

Tom Gallini

Advanced-Level Member at Large

Member at Large

Ben-chanowk Jamir

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Member at Large

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SPRING CONFERENCE WELCOME MESSAGE Welcome to OACUHO at Brock!

On behalf of the Spring Conference Planning Committee at Brock, we are thrilled to welcome OACUHO members from across the country to Brock’s campus and the Niagara Region. Our team has been hard at work over the last seven months, and we are so excited to finally experience the conference alongside all of you.

The theme of this year’s conference, Harness the Energy, reflects the power of our collective housing community and the momentum created when we come together. For us, Harness the Energy is about recognizing what’s possible when passionate housing professionals share ideas, support one another, and inspire meaningful change across our campuses. The theme is inspired by the incredible power and energy of Niagara Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of North America.

We hope this week provides opportunities for learning and reflection, time to reconnect with familiar faces and build new connections, and inspiration to bring new ideas back to your campuses. We truly appreciate the time you have taken to be here with us and hope you enjoy your time at Brock and throughout Niagara.

This week would not have been possible without the support and dedication of our conference committees, as well as the guidance of the OACUHO Board. Thank you for helping make this conference a reality in such a short amount of time.

Kendall McCabe (she/her) and Miranda Hueston (she/her) 2026 OACUHO Spring Conference Co-Chairs

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Eternity Martis Featured Keynote

FEATURED KEYNOTE We are excited to announce our Keynote Speaker for Spring Conference 2026, Eternity Martis!

Eternity Martis - a multi-award-winning journalist, author, editor, and professor whose work centers on equity, storytelling, and underrepresented communities.

Eternity is the author of the bestselling, award-winning memoir They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life and Growing Up and has been recognized as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network.

Eternity brings powerful insight on inclusion, systems, and lived experience that will resonate deeply with housing professionals and leaders committed to building more equitable communities.

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CONCURRENT SESSIONS

SESSION SCHEDULE | TUESDAY, MAY 26

Learning Experience Block 1: Tuesday, May 26 – 10:30 – 11:30 AM Invisible Burdens: Supporting BIPOC Coordinators in Student-Facing Roles Accountability in Action: Reframing Residence Conduct Through Student Staff Leadership Don’t Stop Retrieving (Data): A Date-Driven Approach to Program Development Safer Nights, Stronger Communities: Western’s Residence Safety Program Entering Year Five The Power of Pause: Meditation as a Workplace Skill

Learning Experience Block 2: Tuesday, May 26 – 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM Take Up Space: Part 2 - Thick Happens When We’re in Community I’m Okay (I Promise): Examining How Personal Trauma Influences Support and Supervision Integrating Student Staff into Program Revisions: A Tale of Evaluation & Change Management Restorative Complexities: Justice, Practice, and Student Behaviour Management Trust-Based Leadership: Challenging tranditional notions of supervision in Residence Life spaces, using Vulnerability, Accountability Modelling, and Macromanagement

Learning Experience Block 3: Tuesday, May 26 – 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

SESSION SCHEDULE | TUESDAY, MAY 26

Residence Staff Mentorship: Inspiring and Developing Student Leaders Julianne Pettigrew Session From Problem to Policy - A Practitioner’s Toolkit for Higher Education Professionals The Evolution of Furnitire Designs in Student Housing Bridging the Gap: Intentional Student & Staff Transitions into University Housing

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SESSION SCHEDULE | WEDNESDAY, MAY 27

Learning Experience Block 4: Wednesday, May 27 – 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Mental Health Spectrum of Needs - A proactive Approach to Student Support What We Learned in Year One: A New User’s Guide to StarRez Success Journey towards Zero Waste When Crisis comes to Campus: Lessons Learned from Housing Operations during Wildfire Relief Invisible Architects: How Women Shape the Future of Student Housing

Learning Experience Block 5: Wednesday, May 27 – 10:30 PM – 11:30 PM Asking Better Questions to Get Better Answers: How to Continuously Improve, Appreciatively Harnessing Collective Care in Complex Student Behaviour Beyond the Surface-Level Inspection More Than Four Walls: Reimagining the Residence Curriculum Applying the Competency Framework in Your Work

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BLOCK 1 TUESDAY, MAY 26 - 10:30-11:30 AM Invisible Burdens: Supporting BIPOC Coordinators in Student-Facing Roles Room: Thistle Complex 253 - Workshop (50 minutes) Presenter: Viplav Subramanian (Vancouver Island University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals Summary: BIPOC Coordinators in student-centered positions often face expectations that extend beyond their formal responsibilities. They are frequently called upon to address racial issues, mediate conflicts, and provide support in ways colleagues who do not share their racial identity may not experience. These pressures generate significant emotional labor, repeated exposure to racial trauma, and professional strain.

This session combines a concise presentation with guided self-reflection activities, allowing participants to both learn about these dynamics and explore their own roles in addressing them. Participants will leave with practical strategies to recognize, redistribute, and reduce racialized labor in their teams and departments.

Accountability in Action: Reframing Residence Conduct Through Student Staff Leadership Room: Thistle Complex 255 - Workshop (50 minutes) Presenter: Kelly Warren (Wilfrid Laurier University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals Summary: This session will explore Laurier’s implementation of a new student staff role over the past 4 years, the Residence Impact Coach, and how the programmatic change has had a positive impact on students and staff. With a focus on why a near to peer conduct mentorship/accountability model was put in place and the positive outcomes of the program, this session will prompt critical reflection as to how residence programs can simultaneously focus on education and conduct adjudication with support from our student leaders. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn about key tenets of the Residence Impact Coach approach at Laurier, the growth and struggles of the role, and how the implementation of the Residence Impact Coach position has helped to address resourcing needs while staying focused on intentional learning for students. Finally, attendees will be challenged to think about how this model could help support conduct and learning at their own institution.

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BLOCK 1 TUESDAY, MAY 26 - 10:30-11:30 AM Don’t Stop Retrieving (Data): A Date-Driven Approach to Program Development Room: Thistle Complex 256 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenter: Aaron Brown (York University) Target Audience: Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals Summary: Making meaningful and informed decisions is essential in our work—but how do we know what data can best support our program development and evaluation? This session will briefly showcase how York University’s Residence Life is using more of our data in more effective ways to inform our strategic planning. Afterwards, participants will engage in collective ideating on what data we engage with (and what other data we could access), how we’re currently making meaning of this data (and what new ways we might use it), and ways we might navigate barriers or challenges to engaging with data to inform our decision-making. A synthesis of the ideas generated throughout this session will be shared with participants afterwards.

Safer Nights, Stronger Communities: Western’s Residence Safety Program Entering Year Five Room: Thistle Complex 257 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenters: Joshua Clubb & Rick Tebbutt (Western University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals Summary: Participants will examine how the redesigned model increased overnight staffing presence, improved response capacity, and created space for Dons to shift from reactive duty work toward intentional community connection through programming and wellness-focused check-ins known as Tailored Talks.

With Dons across Western now averaging fewer than one duty call per shift and completing 50% fewer overnight rounds than prior to the Residence Safety program’s implementation, the after-hours landscape has shifted decisively. The session connects this transformation to established theoretical frameworks, to explore how structural redesign shapes students’ sense of mattering, increases developmental student– staff interaction, and sustains institutional change over time. Grounded in assessment data, call-log analysis, and staff experience, the session highlights outcomes related to perceived safety, role clarity, workload manageability, and professional well-being, including a significant reduction in after-hours response work for RLCs and more consistent rest during on-call periods. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for reviewing their own after-hours structures, identifying meaningful measures of success, and translating operational change into a stronger student experience.

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BLOCK 1 TUESDAY, MAY 26 - 10:30-11:30 AM Residence+- A Transition TO Residence Program Room: Thistle Complex 259 - Workshop (50 minutes) Presenters: Sean Fast & Caroline Papple (McMaster University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals, Senior Housing Officers Summary: This interactive workshop introduces mindfulness and meditation as practical, evidence-based workplace skills that support employee well-being, focus, and psychological safety in fast-paced professional environments. Designed for staff working in high-demand, people-centred roles, the session blends brief teaching with guided practice to demonstrate how short, accessible mindfulness strategies can be realistically integrated into the workday. Participants will explore what mindfulness and meditation are (and are not), review common approaches, and examine why many people struggle to maintain a practice (PositivePsychology.com, 2023). The session also highlights current growth and trends in the global meditation and workplace wellness industry (The Business Research Company, 2024), alongside researchinformed benefits such as stress reduction, emotional regulation, attention, and overall well-being (PositivePsychology.com, 2023). Evidence from workplace contexts will be used to illustrate how meditation supports productivity, resilience, and healthier organizational culture (Forbes Business Council, 2020).

Drawing on the facilitator’s experience delivering wellness and leadership programming at McMaster University and training in Koru Mindfulness- an evidence-based program designed for emerging adults (Koru Mindfulness Institute, 2024)- participants will experience several brief guided practices, including grounding, breath awareness, body-based awareness, and compassion-focused exercises. Short reflections will support application to meetings, high-stress moments, and team routines. The session is trauma-informed, inclusive, and non-religious. All activities are optional and adaptable, emphasizing accessibility, equity, and low-barrier participation. Participants will leave with practical tools and resources to support personal well-being and foster psychologically safer, more supportive workplace environments.

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BLOCK 2 TUESDAY, MAY 26 – 1:30 PM-2:30 PM Take Up Space: Part 2 - Thick Happens When We’re In Community Room: Thistle Complex 253 - Workshop (50 minutes) Presenter: Caroline Papple (McMaster University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals, Senior Housing Officers Summary: Building on the success of the OACUHO Fall 2025 session titled “Take Up Space: Plus Size inclusion in Higher Education”, this new session continues the conversation on fat liberation, plus-size inclusion, and belonging in higher education that is not commonly addressed in Canadian Student Affairs. The Fall session highlighted a readiness across Canadian campuses to engage more deeply with body size inclusion.

Participants reported increased confidence in addressing body image within their teams and communities.

Small group discussions allowed colleagues to share experiences, build community, and reflect together.

One participant shared, “I felt liberated talking together in this session!” while another noted, “I have never felt more of a sense of belonging, finally seeing myself in a presentation!” This interactive session invites participants to explore fat liberation through discussion, reflection, and shared learning. Attendees will further examine structural and cultural barriers, challenge assumptions, and identify strategies to create inclusive, and welcoming spaces for plus-size students, staff, and colleagues. By blending research, lived experience, and small group discussion, participants will leave with tools to take up space unapologetically, and model community across their campuses. This session emphasizes collective effort, and communitycentered action, ensuring that all bodies are valued, and empowered in higher education.

I’m Okay (I Promise): Examining How Personal Trauma Influences Support and Supervision Room: Thistle Complex 255 -Workshop (50 minutes) Presenter: Stewart Grunwell (University of Guelph) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals Summary: This session will examine where and how trauma can show up in our work, as housing professionals. Though we prioritize providing trauma-informed support to our students, less consideration is given to how our own lived experiences influence our instincts and responses to situations on campus, nor how said experiences may influence our approaches to supervision and leadership. This session will explore how our own personal trauma can both enhance, and complicate, our approaches to our work. Participants will examine how lived experience influences crisis response, student support, staff supervision, and our individual wellness. Thereafter, we’ll discuss strategies for supportive supervision and self-management when faced with situations that reactivate responses related to past trauma.

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BLOCK 2 TUESDAY, MAY 26 – 1:30 PM-2:30 PM Integrating Student Staff into Program Revisions: A Tale of Evaluation & Change Management Room: Thistle Complex 256 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenter: Aaron Brown (York University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals Summary: Student staff can provide valuable perspective and insights when engaging in program changes; however, they can also be a source of resistance to change. How can we create space for our peer educators to meaningfully share their feelings, experiences, and insights with our programs while balancing what feedback we reasonably can (or should) take forward in future iterations? This session will explore how York University’s Residence Life Management Team has integrated student staff into our annual residence curriculum revisions process to 1) improve resident engagement and learning, 2)improve student staff’s experience withthe curricular approach, and 3) orient studentstaff towards a more positive embrace of thecurricular approach; additionally, we’ll sharehow we’re applying this approach to otherprograms within our department such as stafftraining and residence orientation. Join us foran exploration of how engaging student staff inprogram revisions can serve as both a valuableassessment opportunity and an approach forchange management.

Restorative Complexities: Justice, Practice, and Student Behaviour Management Room: Thistle Complex 257 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenter: Kristin Lennan (University of Guelph) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals Summary: Restorative justice is common language in student behaviour management, but what is it and how is it done? There are ethical complexities attributed to the use of restorative justice in the postsecondary sector. It is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. The challenge for institutions then focuses on how to soften the edges and create space for relational and human-centered approaches in student behaviour management work within structures often focused on punishment. This presentation will unpack structural barriers to true restorative work. Participants will walk away with tools to help cultivate a more inclusive and compassionate campus community.

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BLOCK 2 TUESDAY, MAY 26 – 1:30 PM-2:30 PM ITrust-Based Leadership: Challenging tranditional notions of supervision in Residence Life spaces, using Vulnerability, Accountability Modelling, and Macromanagement Room: Thistle Complex 259 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenters: Mike Fernandes & Jermy Zhao (University of Toronto) Target Audience: New Professionals Summary: Drawing from our own anecdotal experiences in Residence Life, as well as scientific research on effective supervision across industries, we argue for the significant benefits of Trust-Based Leadership, a philosophy grounded in supervisors actively and intentionally practicing vulnerability, accountability modelling, and macromanagement. This approach contrasts with more traditional leadership models that often rely on stoicism, hierarchy-based structures, and micromanagement. By implementing Trust-Based Leadership, Residence Life professional staff can expect increased morale and stronger role commitment among their reporting staff, better support their student communities, and their own identities to be more accurately reflected in the role. We will discuss specific, actionable strategies that allow participants to apply these principles to their day-to-day work in Residence Life. Participants will also engage in guided self-reflection and interactive activities to examine their currently supervisory approaches and identify opportunities to foster greater trust and staff ownership. Finally, we will use interactive activities to allow participants to create an action plan for implementing these leadership principles in their roles right now, providing a level of self-accountability after the presentation has ended. Participants will leave with a clear framework for implementing Trust-Based Leadership in their own Residence Life contexts.

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BLOCK 3 TUESDAY, MAY 26 – 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Residence Staff Mentorship: Inspiring and Developing Student Leaders Room: Thistle Complex 256 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenters: Jordan Dobben & Joshua Clubb (Western University) Target Audience: New Professionals Summary: Mentorship is about the people who guide, challenge and believe in us. Their words and actions shape how we lead, work and grow. Mentorship is more than advice—it’s about impact. Launched in 2023, the Residence Life Staff Mentorship Program at Western University pairs new and returning residence life staff in meaningful, year-long mentorship relationships meant to foster experiential learning and professional growth.

Join us to learn about the program, its expansion from launch to the present academic year, and how to take the foundations of the program to apply them at your institution!

Julianne Pettigrew Session Room: Thistle Complex 259 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenter: Mark Stevens (University of Toronto Mississauga) Target Audience: New Professionals The Evolution of Furnitire Designs in Student Housing Room: Thistle Complex 253 - Workshop (50 minutes) Presenters: Olivier Begin & Stephane Belisle (Foliot Furniture) Target Audience: Advanced Level Professionals, Senior Housing Officers Summary: Student housing has evolved significantly over the past several decades, shifting from purely functional dormitory spaces to environments designed to support comfort, community, wellness, and everyday living. This session explores how student housing furniture has changed alongside those expectations, from traditional residence rooms to modern apartment-style living. Through visual examples, industry observations, and interactive discussions, attendees will examine the evolution of common areas, bedrooms, study spaces, and shared living environments across different eras and campus models.The presentation will also touch on durability, operational realities, student expectations, regional design preferences, and where the future of student living may be heading next.Designed as an engaging and discussion-driven session, attendees will be encouraged to reflect on their own student experiences while exploring how furniture continues to shape campus life today.

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BLOCK 3 TUESDAY, MAY 26 – 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM From Problem to Policy - A Practitioner’s Toolkit for Higher Education Professionals Room: Thistle Complex 255 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenter: Robert King (Trent University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals, Senior Housing Officers Summary: You’ve seen good ideas die in committee. You’ve watched well-intentioned policies collapse at implementation. You’ve sat in the meeting where everyone agreed something needed to change and then nothing did. This presentation will provide some help with moving away from that outcome.We’ll get straight to the tools that actually move policy forward: instruments, evaluation criteria, and decision matrices. You’ll use them in real time, working through a messy, realistic campus scenario with a small group of colleagues who are probably dealing with the same headaches you are.No jargon prerequisites. No passive listening.

Just the goal of providing a practical framework, a few tools, and the satisfaction of leaving the session with something to use on Monday morning.

Bridging the Gap: Intentional Student & Staff Transitions into University Housing Room: Thistle Complex 257 - Workshop (50 minutes) Presenter: Allison Schneider (Brock University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals Summary: University residence environments are spaces of constant transition. Students move through critical periods of adjustment, academic pressure, mental health challenges, and community development, while student staff simultaneously navigate leadership roles, emotional labour, and their own personal growth. When these transition points are unsupported, the energy within residence communities can quickly shift toward burnout, disconnection, and crisis response. At Brock University, the Transition and Support Coordinator role was developed to intentionally bridge student wellbeing support and student staff development within residence life. This session explores how institutions can strengthen support in these moments of change for students living in residence while also providing guidance and reflection opportunities for student staff responding to complex situations, including fostering resilience. Participants will learn about the structure and goals of the Transition and Support Coordinator position, key transition points that often create risk for students and student staff, and strategies that proactively support individuals during these periods. Through case examples and discussion, the session will highlight how cross-campus collaboration, reflective supervision, and intentional transition planning can reduce crisis escalation and foster stronger communities.

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BLOCK 4 WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 – 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Mental Health Spectrum of Needs - A proactive Approach to Student Support Room: Thistle Complex 257- Lecture (50 minutes) Presenters: Skylar Rego & Ella Ma (Western University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals Summary: The Mental Health Spectrum of Needs is a tool that was developed through our Residence Life Wellness Committee and in collaboration with 25 our Student Health and Wellness team to help support student wellbeing and resource navigation. With the goal of creating more initiatives aligned with prevention and early intervention for mental health and wellness, this tool provides students with a visual framework to identify changes in feelings and behaviours and locate appropriate resources and supports.

This session will review how the tool aligns with a stepped care model and encourages a proactive approach to wellbeing. We’ll walk through how to use the tool with students directly to help them identify changes in behaviours and feelings, and what support and resources are available to address those needs.

We’ll discuss how this framework can promote self-awareness and autonomy to locate and navigate resources through visual cues and self-reflection. Used within our residence life team, we’ll demonstrate how this tool can support student staff in conversations around student wellbeing and works into the 4 R framework (Recognize, Respond, Refer, Reflect) that they use to support students experiencing wellness concerns. We hope that residence life teams can use this presentation to inform the development of their own frameworks that promote prevention and early intervention initiatives for student wellbeing.

What We Learned in Year One: A New User’s Guide to StarRez Success Room: Thistle Complex 255 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenters: Kristi Stafford & Jeannine D’Amico (Brock University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals Summary: This session offers new and prospective StarRez users a practical, experience-based look at what the first year in the platform truly entails. Now entering our second year with StarRez, our team has completed a full annual cycle and gained valuable insights into building intuitive student experiences, refining workflows, and avoiding common early stage missteps. Participants will learn how we designed our Housing Services Hub page to serve as an effective gateway to the site, using targeted widget rules to ensure students see only what is relevant to them. We will walk through how different student types encounter the system—from their first login to becoming in-house residents—and how thoughtful design supports clarity and engagement. The session also explores our full application lifecycle, including managing the application period, supporting students as they navigate their applications, and evolving from an early “choice” based structure to more intentional workflows. Finally, we will discuss how we monitor room offer acceptance to better understand student commitment to housing. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to strengthen their own StarRez implementation/process or to understand what the future might hold for those considering this platform.

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BLOCK 4 WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 – 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Journey towards Zero Waste Room: Thistle Complex 256 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenter: Johanna Webber (University of British Columbia) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals Summary: By the end of the session participants will: Understand the zero waste philosophy andconsider first steps that can be taken tomove their program towards zero waste, identify the challenges of zero waste in astudent residence and identify solutions recognize the waste hierarchy andunderstand why prevention comes first Articulate how to measure progress for zerowaste and evaluate

When Crisis comes to Campus: Lessons Learned from Housing Operations during Wildfire Relief Room: Thistle Complex 259 - Workshop (50 minutes) Presenter: Carly Duffield (University of Manitoba) Target Audience: Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals, Senior Housing Officers Summary: In May of 2025, the University of Manitoba Student Residences became a part of Manitoba’s wildfire relief effort during one of the largest emergency evacuations in the history of the province. With over 32,000 Manitobans displaced from their communities and emergency services personnel and volunteers arriving from all over the world, the province needed every available space to be used in the relief effort and our university housing operation had to rapidly transition from a student residence model to an emergency response housing site. Within days of the Manitoba State of Emergency being declared, we were coordinating accommodations for evacuees, first responders and Red Cross volunteers – while also maintaining our student housing operations. This session will explore how our emergency response strategies were tested in real time during a large-scale crisis. Participants will learn how our team assessed capacity, re-allocated resources, mitigated risks and established clear communication structures under tight timelines – and the lessons we learned as the situation was unfolding. Designed for intermediate or leading housing professionals this session will include my story and the experience of our Student Residences team during this crisis – but will also include actionable guidance on preparing for and leading through emergency housing response. Attendees will leave with risk management considerations, a logistics model for occupancy coordination during emergency arrivals, and lessons learned from the University of Manitoba that can strengthen institutional readiness and resilience in their own operations.

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BLOCK 4 WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 – 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Invisible Architects: How Women Shape the Future of Student Housing Room: Thistle Complex 253 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenter: Jen Coulter (Trent University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals, Senior Housing Officers Summary: Women have long been the invisible architects of student housing—holding communities together, stabilizing operations, and shaping institutional culture—yet their strategic influence is often undervalued or obscured. This session draws on a narrative inquiry study of women senior housing officers (SHOs) to illuminate how gendered expectations, emotional labour, and patriarchal structures shape leadership experiences in residence systems. The study identified four core themes—giving back to the community, ongoing learning, demonstrating self-confidence, and gender bias—that reveal both the motivations that draw women into housing leadership and the systemic barriers they encounter once there.

Participants described performing with confidence before fully feeling it, engaging in continuous learning to counteract gendered assumptions, and persisting through incidents of bias and inequality. Their stories highlight how women’s leadership practices, often rooted in care, collaboration, and community commitment, are essential to the future of student housing yet remain insufficiently recognized within patriarchal university structures. This session translates these findings into practical, equity-centred tools to redesign decision rights, increase leadership visibility, and address gendered labour distribution. Through interactive story-based activities and applied scenario analysis, participants will examine how organizational structures can unintentionally reinforce inequity—and how they can be reimagined to support women’s advancement, wellbeing, and influence. The session invites leaders at all levels to rethink how student housing can become a more inclusive, sustainable, and equitable profession.

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CONFERENCE SPONSORS

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BLOCK 5 WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 – 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM Asking Better Questions to Get Better Answers: How to Continuously Improve, Appreciatively Room: Thistle Complex 255 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenters: Jen Skinner & Kristen Leal (University of Toronto – Mississauga) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals Summary: Are you stuck facing the same problems term after term? Have your past solutions failed and you don’t know why? Are you tired of only seeing problems and are hoping to start building better solutions?

Then this session is for you! This presentation explores how Student Experience and Student Housing staff can enhance problem-solving, decision-making, and solution generation skills through the combined use of Continuous Improvement (CI), Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and Appreciative Inquiry (AI). This session introduces Continuous Improvement as an iterative, data-informed approach focused on analyzing performance, identifying opportunities, and implementing incremental changes to elevate processes and outcomes. This session will then transition into an overview of Appreciative Inquiry, a strengths-based approach to organizational change that helps ground leaders in what is going well in order to help amplify and build on past successes to help propel future growth. This presentation is designed at helping housing professionals not just identify their problems in a clearer, more productive way but will also equip participants with valuable skills and tools to utilize to help build stronger, strength-based solutions. By blending principles of Continuous Improvement with the Appreciate Inquiry, participants will learn how to go from ‘What went wrong?’ to ‘How do we get to where we want to go?’. The session facilitators (Kristen and Jen from UTM) are really looking forward to sharing their experiences and past learnings with you all!

Harnessing Collective Care in Complex Student Behaviour Room: Thistle Complex 253 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenters: Kristin Lennan (University of Guelph) & Lara Hof (Hof & Associates) Target Audience: Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals, Senior Housing Officers Summary: When a critical incident occurs, experienced professionals are often pulled in three directions: the needs of the individual student, the trauma of the impacted community, and the legal/operational requirements of the institution. This session provides a high-level overview of navigating these complex behavioral cases through an integrated lens. You will examine how robust policies and deliberate staff debriefing practices serve as the backbone to a successful crisis response. This session is designed for intermediate and leading professionals who want to refine their strategic response to high-impact behaviour in residence.

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BLOCK 5 WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 – 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM Beyond the Surface-Level Inspection Room: Thistle Complex 256- Lecture (50 minutes) Presenters: Michael Giangregorio, Nicole Garneau & Jeff Marques (Brock University) Target Audience: New Professionals Summary: In Housing, regular inspections of student spaces are a crucial part of the yearly cycle. An inspection can be completed to check the condition of the room, monitor for maintenance concerns, flag potential concerns with a particular student, or even just be an occasion for frequent interactions or touchpoints between the department and the student. However, there is a misconception that inspections can only be valuable from a the lens of a Facilities staff member in the Housing department. While this can be true, inspections can be very multifaceted in their approach and in their outreach. At our institution, our inspection process is very interconnected between our Facilities team, our Service Desk team, our Residence Life team, and our Admissions Team. Having frequent inspections of all residence spaces can also help keep the buildings in better condition, and maintains carefully-kept records. Especially during end of year billing, having these touchstones to work from helps drastically in follow up and determining responsibility. 27 Inspections can also have a significant impact on the student Residence experience, in helping to monitor for any concerning behaviour, and in creating a deeper sense of community and customer service. The goal of inspections and setting standards for upkeep in student spaces is to help students learn and grow in their time in Residence, and help to prepare them for their lives post post-secondary.

More Than Four Walls: Reimagining the Residence Curriculum Room: Thistle Complex 257 - Lecture (50 minutes) Presenters: Hayden McDonald & Katelyn Parsons (Western University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals Summary: In this session, Katelyn and Hayden will guide attendees through the process of updating or implementing a residential curriculum using lessons learned from leading the curriculum revision project at Western University and the implementation of curricular approach at Fleming College. Grounded in student development theory, attendees will explore realistic, manageable steps toward leadership buy -in, and the introduction of assessment on campus. Through practical examples and guided reflection, attendees will identify gaps or growth areas within their own models and consider realistic, scalable strategies for revision.

Whether building a curriculum from the ground up or refreshing an established model, participants will leave with tangible next steps to strengthen intentionality, improve alignment with institutional priorities, and better support student belonging and development.

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BLOCK 5 WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 – 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM Applying the Competency Framework in Your Work Room: Thistle Complex 259 - Workshop (50 minutes) Presenters: Mark Mariner & Erica Fearnall (Western University) & Melissa Chaffe (St. Jerome’s University) Target Audience: New Professionals, Mid-Level Professionals, Advanced Level Professionals Summary: In this session, presenters will guide participants through practical, adaptable ways to integrate the Competency Framework and Learning Objectives into their daily work . Since its introduction at last year’s Spring Conference, the Competency Framework has become increasingly embedded in professional development programming and conference planning. This year’s session builds upon that foundation by offering participants concrete strategies for applying the framework to professional development requests, coaching conversations, and performance management practices. Participants will explore how the Competency Framework can help articulate developmental needs, identify skill gaps, and support intentional growth planning. Through small‑group conversations, participants will share their familiarity with the framework, enhancing collective understanding and guiding the session’s facilitation. The interactive portion of the workshop invites participants to examine real workplace situations, such as preparing a PD request or structuring a coaching conversation, through the lens of specific competencies and skill levels.

The session concludes with an engaging gamified activity inspired by the game Apples to Apples. This activity reinforces application of the Competency Framework by prompting participants to reflect on competency areas, articulate their own developmental experiences, and connect learning to their professional roles. Participants leave with practical language, tools, and strategies for integrating the Competency Framework into supervision, mentorship, performance conversations, and personal professional development planning.

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MON, MAY 25

CONFERENCE SOCIALS 🎤 Karaoke Night in Residence 8 Atrium, 8 – 10 pm Hosted in our Residence 8 Building on the main floor, come join us for a fun Karaoke Night In. We would love to see your best solo performance, duet, or bring your team up on stage. Not a performer? That’s okay!

Come out and enjoy our late-night deep-fried table and cheer on your colleagues!

☕ Cat’s Caboose Pub Night Out, 8 pm – 10 pm Looking for a fun night out instead? Cat’s Caboose is one of the oldest and most established restaurants in St. Catharines, and our team’s favourite place to celebrate end of year closeout. Conveniently located just down Glenridge Hill, Cat’s has some of the best food in the city!

TUES, MAY 26

Cat’s Caboose 224 Glenridge Ave, St. Catharines, ON L2T 3J9

Dinner Downtown Niagara, Boat Tour & Fun on Clifton Hill Buses will leave Brock at 4:45 p.m. to take you downtown St. Catharines for dinner at some of our team’s favourite spots. We have reserved seats at 6 different restaurants, but the gift card provided also works at a number of other stops and shops.

Buses will pick up all other guests at 6:45 p.m. and continue to Niagara Falls for a Boat Tour at 7:30 p.m. A plastic poncho will be provided, but it is likely you will feel the mist of the Falls, so please bring what you’ll need to feel comfortable.

After the boat tour, we invite you to experience some of the fun activities on Clifton Hill by using the fun passes provided. There are lots of other attractions that you can choose to visit if you’re interested! We will have buses shuttling back to Brock every half hour starting from 8 p.m. - 11 p.m.

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Matt Britton

Featured Keynote

CLOSING KEYNOTE We are excited to announce our closing Keynote Speaker for Spring Conference 2026, Matt Britton!

Matt Britton is a globally recognized authority on artificial intelligence, generational change, and the future of work. As the author of the New York Times bestselling YouthNation and the 2025 release Generation AI, Britton has established himself as one of the most influential voices helping leaders understand how technology and culture collide to reshape society. His keynotes, delivered to audiences across the globe, unpack how Millennials, Gen Z, and now Generation Alpha are transforming consumer behaviour—and how AI will redefine every facet of business, from marketing and commerce to education and human connection.

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CONFERENCE SPONSORS

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THE PULSE ARTICLES PEER-TO-PEER CONNECTION: RESPONDING TO WELLNESS NEEDS THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP Author: Marlee Lunshof, Community Care Coordinator (She/Her)

At Trent University, Student Housing’s Residence Life & Education Division and the School of Nursing are leading a community driven initiative that demonstrates how cross-campus partnerships can create a sustainable cycle of proactive wellness trend identification, targeted program implementation, and ongoing assessment within residence communities.

Identifying Student-Driven Wellness Needs In the 2024/25 Annual Resident Satisfaction Survey, residents identified a clear desire for more frequent check-ins and increased opportunities to discuss their well-being. In response to this feedback, Residence Life & Education partnered with the School of Nursing and the Student Wellness Centre to address student-identified wellness concerns in a timely and intentional way.

Program Design Through this partnership, the Community Care Coordinator assumed the role of preceptor for Bachelor of Nursing Science (BScN) students.

Together, they developed a program that both supports residents’ mental health needs and provides meaningful experience for nursing students. What began as a short-term placement project evolved into an ongoing initiative built on continuous assessment. The program will not function across multiple academic terms, allowing insights gathered in one phase to directly inform the next:

• Fall 2025: BScN students developed a Facilitator Guide to support wellness check-ins (referred to as Community Connection Conversations) through structured door-knocking across residence buildings.

• Winter 2026: Using this guide, BScN placement students knocked on over 500 doors, conducted 275 wellness check-ins, distributing resources, and documenting emerging wellness trends.

They used this information to update the Facilitator Guide and an index of Needs + Campus Resources.

Implementation As part of this initiative, BScN students received training in Student Housing policies and procedures, active listening, community resources, campus partner referrals, and escalation protocols. Over a 10-week placement, students engaged residents in conversations about mental health, support networks, and overall well-being. At the Durham campus, conversations with professional staff revealed that residents had misconceptions about counselling availability and highlighted a need for support in conflict resolution. In response, BScN students provided tailored resources that aligned with these priorities, demonstrating how trends collected through direct engagement can inform localized response. Insights from these conversations were used to refine the facilitator guide and shape residence-wide initiatives.

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“We were surprised that so many students were willing to talk to us and share their experience with wellness living in residence” - BScN Placement Student, Fall 2025 "This initiative was an awesome opportunity to meet students and advocate for residence wellness resources. I enjoyed knowing I was helping to foster a safe and inclusive community for students." - BScN Placement Student, Winter 2026 Moving Forward: Continuous Assessment This partnership represents a continuous improvement model rooted in student feedback.

By integrating nursing placemen students into Residence Life Operations, the program strengthens existing capacity in a sustainable way. Each cycle, through conversation, trend identification, implementation, and reassessment, builds upon the last.

• Summer 2026: BScN will analyze trends identified during winter check-ins to design targeted tabling initiatives for the 2026-2027 academic year.

• Fall & Winter 2026: Wellness-focused tabling initiatives will be implemented while doorknocking continues, allowing for on-going data collection and the continuation of a meaningful placement experience for BScN placement students.

This iterative structure ensures that wellness programming remains responsive, evidenceinformed, and grounded in the lived experience of residence students. It reinforces a shared commitment to listening, collaboration, and proactive wellness promotion. Most importantly, it demonstrates how intentional partnerships can transform student feedback into actionable, community-responsive support systems that enhance health and well-being across residence communities..

About the Author Marlee Lunshof (She/Her) is the Community Care Coordinator at Trent University and a proud Trent alumna. She holds a Master of Education from the University of New Brunswick with a specialization in Administration and Leadership.

Marlee is passionate about advancing student well‑being through mental health advocacy, trauma‑informed practice, and peer‑to‑peer health education, with a particular interest in collaborative, community‑driven approaches to care in residence settings.

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THE PULSE ARTICLES FATPHOBIA ON CAMPUS: ARE WE READY FOR THIS CONVERSATION? Author: Caroline Papple, Residence Life Manager (She/Her)

“I’ve never been a small girl in any sense of the word, not my body, not my shoe size, not my height, not my personality, not the decibel I speak at, not the echo of my laugh. I always wished to be smaller in all ways, but mostly in one way” – Josie Balka, Poet The Conversation We Are Not Having We work in institutions deeply committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion, yet body-inclusive practices remains one of the most under addressed areas in student affairs. Body image cuts across gender, race, culture, and ability, raising an important question: why has higher education avoided this conversation for so long?

For students, staff, and faculty in larger bodies, campus life can be shaped by a persistent sense of “otherness.” On campus, size privilege is unrecognized by those who have never had to think about whether a space will welcome them or whether a uniform will fit. Fatphobia is embedded in how we design spaces, define professionalism, and determine who belongs. I invite you to reflect on your own body messaging, what you observed growing up, and how these dynamics shape your team and possibly your own bias.

To understand how this silence exists within our institutions, we need to examine the cultural narratives that shaped Ontario education for decades.

Cultural Narratives and the Repackaging of Thinness In the 1990’s and early 2000’s body liberation was non-existent. During the age of “heroin chic” aesthetics, extreme dieting culture, pro-ana websites (iykyk), and messaging like “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”; these messages reinforced a western cultural narrative that body management is tied to belonging and societal acceptance.

Western movies and TV amplified these ideas further- In Bridget Jones’s Diary, 136 pounds is framed as “chubby.” In The Devil Wears Prada, Andie is labeled “fat” at a size six. Public figures like Ginger Spice and Jessica Simpson faced relentless body scrutiny, while plus-size women in television and film were often stereotyped, think of “Fat Monica” in Friends or the “mother trope” in Madea.

These narratives have not disappeared; they have simply evolved. Today, they are repackaged through the “wellness” industry and pharmaceutical weight-loss trends that continue to profit from body dissatisfaction. This is also reinforced by social media, Algorithm feeds, and comparison culture - A 2023 study across 17 countries found increased social media use = body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and poor mental health among students, due to social comparison and internalization of thinness (Dane, 2023).

These internal messages follow students, staff, and faculty onto our campuses.

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Institutional Impact

Emerging Institutional Responses

A Canadian Study in 2025 found that approximately 44.7% of university students and employees reported experiencing weight-related stigma (Schohraya, 2025). For staff, research shows that faculty perceived as more conventionally attractive receive higher teaching evaluations (Hamermesh & Parker, 2005), while plus size faculty report biased evaluations and barriers to advancement (Reidinger, 2020). These challenges are intensified by intersectionality, particularly women of color, experience overlapping biases related to both gender and weight (Himmelstein, 2017).

In response to growing pressure from student advocacy, early signs of institutional change are beginning to emerge. In 2024, Harvard University hosted public panels such as Celebrating Bigger Bodies and began integrating fat studies and disability studies into coursework (Rojas, 2024).

The 2021 launch of the ACPA Coalition for Fat Identities created a dedicated professional space for fat liberation within student affairs. In Canada, Trent University’s EVERYbody Project has introduced gender-inclusive body image education (Trent University, 2025).

Despite growing attention in the past few years, there is still limited research on body diversity in higher education. Much of the existing work comes from student initiatives in media studies, sociology, or student activism. These inequities shows a significant gap, and body size remains largely absent from institutional research and action.

Student Advocacy as Catalyst As mentioned, Student experience and activism have been central to advancing this movement.

Initiatives like Boston University’s “Fat on Campus” photo exhibit, featuring iPhone photographs taken by students across the country, highlight the lived realities of students in larger bodies and challenge viewers to reconsider how campus spaces accommodate diverse body types (Yarin, 2024).

Research on weight-based bullying among youth has further shown the urgent need for schools to address body shaming within antiharassment policies. In response, students have increasingly advocated for inclusion of fatphobia as a recognized and actionable form of bullying (Olsen, 2015). These efforts signal a broader shift; students are naming harm and actively pushing institutions to respond.

As size-based discrimination increasingly enters broader equity conversations, the question is whether educators are prepared to reflect on their own bias and meaningfully engage.

OACUHO Context and Practitioner Readiness At the Fall 2025 OACUHO Conference, I facilitated a session titled “Take Up Space: Plus-Size Inclusion in Higher Education.” This workshop intentionally created space to explore plus-size inclusion through self-reflection and small group dialogue. All participants identified the topic as relevant to their work, with 13 of 17 rating it as extremely relevant, and participants reported increased confidence engaging with the topic by the end of the session.

Attendees shared: • “This was a refreshing topic that I have never seen before.”

• “I felt liberated talking together in this session.”

• “I have never felt more of a sense of belonging; finally seeing myself represented in a presentation.”

These responses highlight both a gap and an opportunity within our field.

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OACUHO will launch its first Plus-Size Inclusion Affinity Group in June 2026, designed for housing professionals in Canada who identify as plussize (size XL and above). This initiative aims to build community and address a clear absence within Canadian higher education associations, where no comparable program currently exists.

Call to Action If body discrimination is a missing dimension of equity work, then advancing inclusion requires intentional, everyday practice. We can begin by: 1. Reflecting on our own biases-both personal and professional 2. Examining the language we use, particularly with conversations around food and fitness.

3. Diversifying body representation across social media, event posters, and campus programming 4. Creating community events and intentional spaces for plus-size dialogue and body empowerment 5. Engaging in conversations with students and colleagues about body liberation and acceptance As leaders, it is our time to put in the work - Part Two of Let’s Take Up Space will continue at the Spring Conference, a workshop to discuss plussize inclusion across campus environments. A resource guide is also available for professionals interested in body-inclusive practices on campus.

Thank you, Caroline

About the Author Caroline Papple (She/Her) is a Residence Life Manager at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. With more than a decade of experience, she has held diverse roles in Housing and the Education sector, teaching and facilitating workshops at all levels. Caroline serves on the OACUHO Board of Directors as the Membership Engagement Director and is a committee member in the ACPA Coalition for Fat Identities.

“It is important to acknowledge that I write as a white, cisgender plus-size woman within student affairs, and from a position of privilege that shapes how I am able to engage in this conversation. I also recognize that my lived experience may be different than yours.”

Caroline

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THE PULSE ARTICLES LLCS RE-IMAGINED: HOW STUDENT PRIORITIES ARE RESHAPING RESIDENCE LIFE Authors: Monica Palkowski, Learning and Engagement Specialist Kristin Taylor, Residence Education Coordinator For those of us working in higher education housing departments, we know that residence is more than just a place to live. It plays a critical role in supporting students’ transition to university, fostering a sense of belonging, and creating opportunities for learning and connection beyond the classroom (Graham et al., 2018; López Turley & Wodtke, 2010; Schudde, 2011). Students, too, expect more than just a comfortable place to live when choosing a residence option. Anecdotal evidence suggests that they are looking for environments that support their academic success, offer meaningful social opportunities, and contribute to their overall wellbeing and safety.

While the goals of housing professionals and students often align, student preferences around where and how to live have been shifting in significant ways. Many students are drawn to newer residence buildings that offer enhanced amenities, greater privacy, and more independent living arrangements. And in response, some universities are increasingly moving away from dorm-style options to suiteor apartment-style design, that often feature private bedrooms and bathrooms (Brown et al., 2019).

As student preferences shift toward more modern, private, and individually-oriented spaces, housing and residence life professionals are navigating new challenges in how they foster community, deliver programming and support student success. Approaches that were effective in more traditional residence environments do not always translate as easily into these newer contexts.

Living Learning Communities (LLCs) are one example of a programming model that has long been used to ease students through their transition to university and support their success.

LLCs are made up of groups of students who have a common interest or shared academic affiliation, and who live together in campus housing. They are widely recognized as a highimpact practice associated with positive outcomes such as increased academic engagement, sense of belonging and retention (Inkelas et al., 2024). At McMaster, Housing & Conference Services (HCS) has been offering Living Learning Communities since at least 2012, typically running six to eight LLCs each year.

These communities span a range of themes, such as health and wellness, leadership, creative expression, and entrepreneurship.

There is a strong body of literature that explores the impacts of traditional residence design on student connection, belonging, and integration (Blimling, 2015; Chambliss & Takacs, 2014; Rahimi, 2015).

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LWhile LLCs remain a popular choice for McMaster residence students seeking built-in community and experiential learning, we have noticed a shift in how students engage with them. Increasingly, students are weighing the benefits of living in an LLC against the flexibility to choose from a wider range of residence options.

In some cases, this means prioritizing room style, location, or amenities over participation in an LLC. For example, McMaster’s Creative Expressions LLC has historically been a thriving community of up to 100 individuals who lived in a traditional, older residence building on campus. Over the past few years, however, there has been a significant decline in the number of applications for this LLC, with the 2024-2025 academic year reaching an all-time low of eight students. In conversations with students, we heard that while many were interested in being a part of the LLC, they didn’t want their residence room selection to be restricted to just one building. They valued the autonomy to choose from more residence options when deciding where to live. This prompted a need to reevaluate our approach. In September 2025, McMaster officially launched Open Learning Communities (OLCs), which bring together groups of students who share common interests or academic pursuits, but do not restrict students to living in a particular building, on a particular floor.

OLCs are guided by a framework that includes uniquely curated programming, intentional community building, and deliberate advertising across all residence buildings. Programs are drop-in friendly and activity-based, rather than socially demanding, giving students a choice in how actively they want to participate, with no pressure to arrive on time or stay for a set duration. Furthermore, events are set up with community building in mind. This means large group tables and seating arrangements that encourage small-group interaction, facilitators who are equipped with conversation prompts, and opportunities for students to naturally connect with one another throughout activities.

Finally, efforts are made to promote events across the entire residence system to engage a broader range of students. Students' response to this new model has been overwhelmingly positive – the newly re-imagined Creative Expressions OLC engaged 555 attendees, with over 400 unique students from across every residence building this year.

As students’ priorities continue to shift and approaches that were effective in more traditional residence environments may not be working, it is important that we find innovative ways to continue to support students within these new parameters. This requires reimagining residential engagement models and a shift to prioritizing student autonomy, flexibility, and personal choice, while continuing to provide opportunities for connection, learning, and growth beyond the classroom.

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References Blimling, G. S. (2015). Student Learning in College Residence Halls: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/mcmu/detail. action?docID=1866581 Brown, J., Volk, F., & Spratto, E. M. (2019). The Hidden Structure: The Influence of Residence Hall Design on Academic Outcomes. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 56(3), 267-283. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2019.1611590 Chambliss, D. F., & Takacs, C. G. (2014). How College Works. Harvard University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wpp1k Graham, P. A., Hurtado, S. S., & Gonyea, R. M. (2018).

The Benefits of Living on Campus: Do Residence Halls Provide Distinctive Environments of Engagement?

Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 55(3), 255-269. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2018.1474752 López Turley, R. N., & Wodtke, G. (2010). College Residence and Academic Performance: Who Benefits From Living on Campus? Urban education (Beverly Hills, Calif.), 45(4), 506-532. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085910372351 Rahimi, S. (2015). Social interaction in student residence halls: An architectural perspective PennState]. https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/26317 Schudde, L. (2011). The causal effect of campus residency on college student retention. The Review of Higher Education, 34(4), 581-610. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/439958/pdf

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About the Author

About the Author

Monica Palkowski holds an Hon. BA (English and Cultural Studies) from McMaster University and a Diploma, Social Service Work from Mohawk College. She has a decade of experience working in higher education in the housing and student affairs field developing and implementing curriculum for out of classroom learning opportunities for first-year students. In addition to her current role, she is also a sessional instructor for INSPIRE 1PL3, a first-year course focused on transformative learning and reflection. Monica is currently completing her M Ed at Wilfrid Laurier.

Kristin Taylor completed her Honours BA in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour from McMaster University. Throughout her professional life she has gained over a decade of experience in developing, implementing, and coordinating programming and student-staff teams at McMaster University. She currently holds the position of Residence Education Coordinator and is strongly passionate about student development, community building, program facilitation, and creating a positive impact on our students in residence.

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2026-2027 BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT Greg Hum University of Toronto Scarborough

PRESIDENT ELECT & FINANCE DIRECTOR Robert King Trent University

PAST PRESIDENT Becky Shillington Loyalist College

COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR Alison Elford University of Toronto Scarborough

COMMUNITIES DIRECTOR Malik Yagubi McMaster University

CONFERENCE DIRECTOR Mark Mariner Western University

CORPORATE PARTNER DIRECTOR Jaimie Dickson Trent University

MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR Caroline Papple McMaster University

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Stephen Lourenco Western University

ADVANCED MEMBER AT LARGE Rebekah DeJong St. Jerome’s University

MEMBER AT LARGE Michael Mackett McMaster University

MEMBER AT LARGE Katelyn Parsons Western University

ASSOCIATION MANAGER Carol Ford

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INTERESTED IN GETTING MORE INVOLVED WITH OACUHO? AFFINITY NETWORKS BIPOC Network

Neurodivergent Staff Network

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

Beyond the Binary Network

COMMITTEES

Communities of Practice (CoPs) exist as a forum for members to engage in solving common challenges across institutions.

Within OACUHO, we have three unique committees that members can join to support the larger membership.

Our CoPs include: Residence Education, Curricular Approach & Assessment Student Conduct & Support Admission & Business Operations EDI Programming Small Residences & Housing Units Training, Hiring & Assessment Grad Student and Family Housing Off Campus Housing

Our committees include: Professional Development Communications Membership Engagement To join, please visit: oacuho.com/committees.html

To join, please visit: oacuho.com/Communities_of_Practice_C oPs_.html

AND MORE...

For all ways to get involved, please visit www.oacuho.com

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NEW AFFINITY GROUP COMING SOON

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www.oacuho.com info@oacuho.com