Scott Flickinger
Cornell University

What do you see as opportunities in collegiate recreation and our Association? How would you collaborate with the Member Network team to address these issues?

The landscape for collegiate recreation and our Association has abruptly changed over the last two years thanks to the pandemic. The opportunities I see for our field and for the Association are the lessons we have learned coming out of the pandemic and the adaptation of our programs around this.

We have an opportunity to rebrand collegiate recreation with more emphasis on overall wellness and modernize our offerings and delivery methods. We have explored and incorporated virtual methods of delivery during the pandemic, and many of our users have been so acclimated to those offerings that they have had difficulty with in-person and social encounters inside and outside of collegiate recreation. We know the importance of social health as part of our wellness, so we have chances to re-introduce previous programs at our institutions with a spin on social and mental wellness as well as incorporate potential new programs that can still fit into a virtual or hybrid space.

An issue I see with our association is a declination in member engagement and membership finding less satisfaction and value working in collegiate recreation and higher education, especially among our younger professionals. We should address this and work to provide opportunities to educate members regarding this new collegiate recreation environment and how to navigate it to improve membership engagement and job satisfaction.

The focus of the Member Network and myself would be to oversee opportunities for collaboration regarding tackling the issues and opportunities we face in this landscape. We can create series talks based on member feedback to address what we are up against in the face of post-pandemic programming and employment. We can offer more chances to connect with colleagues and lead presentations on emerging topics in collegiate recreation. Most of all, we would collaborate to create a centralized resource center to help all institutions find what they need to move forward with actual implementation of programs in their departments and on their campuses.

In describing your contributions to NIRSA, identify how your involvement and experiences meet the position criteria and qualify you to serve NISRA in this role.

One of my greatest sources of experiences via NIRSA has been the Championship Series. As a member of the several work teams, Executive Team, and Chair of the Championship Series, I have had extensive experience providing communication and collaboration with my team members and stakeholders of the Championship Series. I have been able to direct and delegate initiatives throughout the Series to expand leadership opportunities for young NIRSA professionals, EDI proposals to increase participation for individuals, and open more channels of communication with membership for clarity and trustworthiness. I was a part of the NIRSA Championship Series 2.0 Long-Term Vision Task Force, which updated and further developed the purpose, principles, and priorities of the Championship Series. This, along with my other NIRSA-related committee experiences, has given me the confidence and skills needed to lead our region forward in important initiatives. I have the knowledge to see the entire macro-level picture within our region and how top-level decisions and ground-level volunteerism and energy can move us into the future, and the ability to combine those levels and lead us in a distinct direction.

My other experiences within my job position and institution have allowed me to communicate the needs of our campus community to administration and bridge silos to better understand how each individual and group can contribute to enhance campus situations. The ability to manage resources, personnel, and ideas and finding the right balance to ensure the best outcome for all involved is one that I have had much experience within and outside of NIRSA. There will be times that constituents will voice concerns or displeasure with the directions taken or the decisions made. In those situations, honesty, integrity, and open communication will help all involved to understand why we should go a certain way and to trust that the interests of the region are heard, realized, and acknowledged.

My abilities to see the landscape, to establish a framework and plan to move forward, and to communicate with our members and hold their interests at heart is what will make my time as your Region Representative a successful one.

Please share your ideas for engaging volunteers and identifying leaders in your region.

The pandemic has forced a re-evaluation of our work-life balance, and this affects volunteerism on all levels. Opportunities to lead and volunteer face more scrutiny now, and individuals are evaluating how their interests and pursuits align with these positions. This is where leadership needs to provide energy and purpose for members to step forward for participation and volunteers to lead our region in initiatives.

Engagement can begin with communication on a region-wide scale. We have the technology and ability to hold more informational online meetings at a more frequent basis. Even a monthly town-hall to provide our region with updates about NIRSA, informational engagements, state and regional happenings, and a platform to ask questions would assist with engaging new members and helping them to connect with recurring members. We have an opportunity to explore monthly meetings with topic-specific subject such as aquatics, competitive sports, facility operations, and mid-level management to help deliver opportunities for members to connect with other professionals in their subfield for mentorship and access to information. We have channels and hubs in which we can record and save sessions and information. We need to utilize and centralize this so that students and professionals can access and revisit information with ease.

I have served in this region for almost twenty years, and have been able to build a vast network of professionals and students within NIRSA. I feel this network has allowed me to observe and identify successful engagement. The key to continued engagement is the involvement of students, graduate assistants, and the newer professionals (10 years or less) in our association. We can provide additional prospects of engagement by exploring emerging and career-oriented topics at a state or regional level such as esports, director-track development, and young professional engagement. There are many chances for older professionals in our field to stay connected with our region and Association, not so much for the younger counterparts. We need to build engagement for the upcoming students and professionals for them to participate and contribute to the region. Creating conduits for them translates into a longitudinal arc for them to start and develop their continued involvement in our region and in NIRSA.

My belief is that raising the level of engagement and providing newer, more relevant opportunities, leaders will emerge and step forward as the future of the region and association. Constructing more student and entry-level professional committees will help us build and expand our pool of potential leaders across the region. We can then tap a broader group of individuals to move our region into the future, while giving our membership greater peace of mind knowing that we have developed more capable and engaged leaders.