The Department of Residence Services will be holding a talk featuring leading residence housing expert Norb Dunkel on Sept. 19 from 10 to 11:30 p.m. in Studio A of Twin Towers.

The talk, “Charting a Course Toward Student Success: Advising from a Student-Centered Point of View,” will utilize Google+ and focus on different advising techniques to use with students.

Dunkel, the main speaker, is the Associate Vice President and Director of Housing and Residence Education at the University of Florida.

“He is the architect. He wrote the handbook on RHA,” said Charles Holmes-Hope, Assistant Director for Residence Education at Kent State.

The conversation is open to all students and faculty interested in residence housing and higher education administration, but it’s mandatory for at least fifty members of the Department of Residence Services. Holmes-Hope encourages anyone interested in the field to be present.

Josh Roush, a master’s student in higher education administration and a campus employee, is one of those required to attend the talk.

“Charles has been able to secure a number of those people to come in and speak to us about what does housing look like for us moving forward,” Roush said. “It’s important to sometimes get the perspective of people working outside of our institution.”

The workshops, which Resident Services is calling a “Google+ conversation” and will include multiple webinars, is part of a university initiative to invest in its pool of workers.

Holmes-Hope said he wants to support the staff: “The department has made a vested interest in supporting the staff professionally and building them up on core competencies. My role is to provide them opportunities that will maximize their focus area.”

Contact Rachel Purget at [email protected].