The Small Program Advisory Council begins its work

In 2015, NIRSA announced the Small College and Community College Task Force. The goal of this task force was to bring the needs of staff at small programs forward as well as to evaluate current and potential resources for that section of the Association’s membership. Since then, the Task Force has completed a needs assessment survey of members and nonmembers. It has also set the wheels in motion for NIRSA to expand its offerings to meet the unique needs of small program staff. Now that the work has transitioned from an exploratory focus to implementation, a new NIRSA Small Programs Advisory Council has been appointed.

2017-2018 NIRSA Small Programs Advisory Council

Todd Bowyer, Director of Campus Recreation at Roanoke College
Andy Lemons, Director of Campus Recreation at St. Edwards University
Alecia Stegenga, Aquatics Coordinator at the University of Illinois at Chicago
Matt Grimm, Director of Campus Recreation at Stevenson University
Joe Hoff, Associate Director of Recreational Sports at Texas A&M University at Galveston
Geoffrey Nelson, Intramural & Recreational Sports Coordinator at Seminole State College of Florida
Stephen Putnam, Director at Garrett College
Christine Haluzak, NIRSA Director of Membership
Megan Granholm, NIRSA Membership Services Coordinator
The Advisory Council met in May and is jumping into several projects:

A preconference workshop for the 2018 Annual Conference that is dedicated to the unique needs of small program staff
A webinar and local professional development via face-to-face meetings that provide additional learning opportunities to small program staff across the country at little to no cost
Retention and recruitment initiatives to strengthen the network of small program NIRSA members

The Council is also working on amplifying the voices of small program staff via NIRSA communications. Be on the lookout for NIRSA News articles highlighting the perspectives and innovations of members at small program rec centers. If you’d like to be a part of this series, we encourage you to send us your stories!

We thank the Small College and Community College Task Force for creating the foundation and infrastructure needed to build more resources and strengthen the network of members at small programs!