SWACUHO Executive Board Highlights

Meeting Overview

October 9, 2026

The Executive Board met on October 9 and is excited to share a few updates from around the region!

Key Discussion Areas

Mid-Year Meeting Planning

• 34 attendees are registered, including Executive Board members, committee representatives, and host volunteers.

• Final preparations are underway as the host team finalizes logistics and attendee experience details.

• Executive Board agenda items include: Committee Meetings, Association Reserve and Surplus Policies, Organization Structure, and others.

Membership Updates

• Membership renewals continue across the region.

• Arkansas currently has 10 dues-paid institutions, Oklahoma has 13, and Texas has 33.

• Overall membership registration remains strong and in line with recent years.

• Member Institutions (Current) (Next Year)

Awards & Recognition

• Award nominations are open through November 2.

• Several updates have been made to award criteria and recognition processes based on member feedback.

• SHINE nominations remain open year-round.

Leadership Opportunities

• Leadership recruitment is underway, with recommendation and interest forms already being submitted.

• Members interested in serving SWACUHO are encouraged to explore available opportunities before the November 13 deadline.

Website & Career Development

• New Career Pathways webpages have launched.

• Website enhancements continue to improve member resources and access to information.

In-Person Events

• SWACUHO-U welcomed 21 participants and 5 coaches, receiving positive engagement and feedback. Thanks to Rose State College for Hosting.

• SHO Workshop welcome more than 35 people. Thanks to Oklahoma State University for hosting.

Looking Ahead

• Registration for the 2027 Annual Conference is open! 

• The 2028 Annual Conference hotel contract has been finalized for Denton, Texas.

• We have received bids for the 2029 Annual Conference, which will be presented at Mid-Year.

Upcoming Scholarship Opportunities

• SWACUHO Travel Grant

• • New grant, established to assist in growing membership and increase involvement to help increase access to the 2027 Annual Conference.

• SWACUHO Do Work Scholarship

• • For grad students or entry level staff who have never attended a SWACUHO Annual Conference

• SWACUHO Pathways Scholarship

• • To help professionals from smaller institutions engage with SWACUHO events

• See more details in the latest email from Past President, Beth.

Upcoming Events

• SHO Workshop: October 14-15

• Texas & Arkansas Roundtables: October 20

• Awards Nomination Webinar: October 22

• GELS Roundtable: November 5

• SSLC: November 13-14

Thank you to our volunteers, committee members, and institutional partners whose dedication continues to strengthen SWACUHO and support professional growth across the region.

Treasurer Snapshot

August Updates	Current
September Income	$16,000
September Expenses	$1,400.60

• Updated budget details are available via the Treasurer’s shared Google Sheet.

Questions or Ideas?

Reach out to your State Director if you would like more information about anything mentioned here!

Arkansas State Director
Leanna Payton
Henderson State University
arkansas@swacuho.org

Oklahoma State Director
Whitney Arbaugh
Northeastern State University 
oklahoma@swacuho.org

Texas State Director
Nicholas Brown
East Texas A&M University
texas@swacuho.org

By Sara Hazel McCoy
October 26, 2026

I’ve put off writing this post for a long time. Months. Over a year, actually. Because it wasn’t going to be perfect. I didn’t have all of the exact words I wanted to use immediately at the time of writing it. My desk was too cluttered. There was another box to unpack. An email came in that I needed to research before I replied to it. Someone walked by with a question that turned into a 45 minute conversation about a lot of important things. I needed to refill my water. So this kept sitting in the back of my mind, not even a blank Google document yet, while I ruminated on how to articulate what I wanted to share.

I didn’t want to allow space to just write and edit later. That would take up too much time. Putting something on paper without it being final? Never. Was what I wanted to share even worthy? No one else can possibly be this neurotic. But also, it’s not like I’m special. Everyone can probably relate to this. So then why should I bother? It’s not new or different or unique. It’s not perfect. It won’t be perfect. I’m not perfect. I won’t ever be perfect. 

I’m not perfect. I try, really, really hard, I do. Sometimes, as I’ve learned, to the detriment of success. I can get caught in a loop of thinking and trying but not actually doing. Or taking longer to do, or procrastinating the doing. 

I see this manifesting in areas across my life. The pile of unfolded (but clean) laundry on the couch. The box of still packed office things from a move that happened 3 months ago (that contains another box of unpacked office things from a move that happened 3 years ago…). The idea that’s written on the dry erase board. The other idea written underneath it.

But I’m trying. 

Because the trying is where a lot of the learning happens. And where a lot of things actually get done, in the trying along the way. 

Some phrases that I’ve held onto in the last 6 years or so: 

• Do you want to be right, or do you want to be successful?

• • Sometimes, I change this in my mind to, “Do you need it to be perfect, or do you need it to be done?”

• That sounds like a “raincloud task.” It’s just hovering. You’re thinking about it longer than it would take you to just do it. 

• What’s mission critical? What are our critical failure points?

• That is 100% good enough.

Good enough? What? Wait. I’m intrigued… Good enough? 

At first, the idea of being good enough didn’t feel good. Probably because it didn’t feel perfect, if we’re being honest here. It felt insulting. Yet, it’s far easier for me to tell my staff to temper or settle or shift because something is good enough. I think that’s something that probably resonates with others. Learning this for myself, though, AND being willing to accept it and temper myself, that’s way harder, way different. But is it? Should it be?

Perfectionism isn’t always realistic, nor is it always the most productive. My perfectionist tendencies have clashed with my achiever strength, probably my entire life. There are things I’ve put off because I didn’t think I could or would do it perfectly. I might take more time to learn as much as I can about what something is, what the expectations are surrounding a commitment, or everything that could go wrong with how we might do something. Rather than chunking larger tasks, I wait until I can do the whole thing. That’s evident if you look at my house or my office, even as I desperately try to combat that tendency. 

The last 4 years or so have really been enlightening in working on challenging those perfectionist tendencies. When I moved into this Assistant Director role, I didn’t always have the option to take the time required for something to be “perfect” because of how much was suddenly on my plate. I also quickly realized that perfect to me wasn’t something that was always needed, even noticed by others, or what others considered perfect. I might have a grand idea of how something should happen, but that may not always be realistic. Some of my expectations were unrealistic. Some of my expectations fell short of what others expected. Some of those expectations also weren’t even mine to have. This is all where the idea of good enough really started coming in for me. Is the goal met? Did I represent the Department well? Did I negatively impact anyone along the way? Have I done good? Did I do well?

So, I’m trying. I’m trying to see where I can be more efficient, where I can temper expectations (of myself, mostly, but also of others), and where I can role model what that can look like to my team. Maybe every item for a program wasn’t delivered. That’s okay. You can still host a program that’s probably pretty impactful without all of the themed paper plates. Maybe someone forgot to bring over one of the items for an activity you were doing. That’s also okay. Being able to pivot is a necessary skill. Maybe a pilot initiative isn’t going the way we intended. It’s not bad, it’s just not, what was expected. 

Now, I see opportunities in the imperfections, in the challenges, in the things that go wrong or don’t go as expected. Maybe what’s happening instead is serving a different need. AND there are more opportunities to learn. Which I like even more than achieving, again, if we’re being honest here.

Now, I just start. I share the partial idea with the Team and see where it goes. I fold half the load of laundry and come back to it two days later. I open the blank document and start typing. 

So, here we are. Ready to submit this to post. I don’t think it’s perfect, but I think it’s (more than) good enough.

Sara Hazel McCoy
Assistant Director at Texas A&M University

By JC Stoner
October 20, 2026

This article was originally published on the SWACUHO Blog in July 2023 but lost during a website migration. It is republished here with permission of the author.

I will always remember my first instructor in my doctoral program. He espoused a neoliberal ideology, talked about the commodification of higher education, and made us read Karl Marx. He and I connected immediately. 

Most everyone in my cohort, myself included, had thus far failed at projecting that we had it all together while only mildly demonstrating the capability of masking our feelings of inadequacy. This being our first PhD course, it was also the first time any of us submitted a “final” paper as doctoral students. It had a required length of 15 pages (without references). Mine was 12 pages (with references). I figured I could make the argument to my seemingly anti-establishment faculty member that those requirements were put in place by someone in a position of power (him) to install fear into a working student (me) and Karl Marx would back my revolution to overthrow his ridiculous requirements. Sadly, I didn’t get the chance to make that argument until long after the course concluded, but I wrote about applying the Forms of Capital by Pierre Bordieu to Student Affairs programming, specifically making the case that efforts to get every single student to attend cultural programming events devalued the cultural capital gained since it would no longer be scarce. I was out of my league and I knew it was going to be a tough sell to my specific audience, but I was going to play to the instructor.

I remember scrolling through all his feedback on that first term paper. One particular comment jumped out at me. Across all the papers I wrote throughout my entire program it is the only comment I still remember verbatim to this day. He wrote, “It took nine pages, but your paper is finally starting to get good.” I think it was the italics that really got me, just knowing he invested a miniscule amount of time and energy to emphasize the “FINALLY” when he could have easily just moved on and still made the same point. 

I didn’t crumble. I didn’t go lock myself in my room and have a pity party. It actually made me laugh. I’ve always loved feedback because I believe in getting better every day. But it was easy to take that feedback for another reason: I knew he was right. 

I met up with this faculty member occasionally just to shoot the breeze. Maybe two years or so after the paper was returned to me, I asked him about that comment and if he remembered it. He said he did. I told him I knew his comment was correct, but I still to that day thought there was something to that paper. He told me, “There definitely was something to that paper, you just never found it.” 

In that same meet up, we got to talking about my dissertation. Even though I don’t remember the exact evolution of that conversation, I will always remember how it concluded when he told me, “Don’t sweat the dissertation. It will be the worst thing you ever write.”

At this point in our relationship, I probably should have expected a comment like this; but it still stopped me in my tracks. By that time, I had probably been working on my dissertation for more than a year, written 75+ pages, spent countless mornings in the office at 6:00am writing and rewriting (and rewriting), and pulled every survey karma string I had to get a good response rate. So much for being the so-called crowning achievement of my educational career if all that time and energy was being invested in the worst thing I would ever write...

But he continued, saying something along the lines of, “it’s your first legitimate scholarly paper. Hopefully everything you write after your dissertation will be better. Otherwise, what is the point of this education you are receiving?”

I’ll never forget that moment, sitting at the bar in that dumpy establishment serving brunch at 11:00am with his pile of books about who knows what radical ideology while nonchalantly telling me my dissertation was going to be the worst thing I ever wrote. But once again, I knew he was right. And he was right about more than just my dissertation.

The first conference program proposal I ever submitted? It was probably the worst one I ever wrote. My first “developmental” conduct meeting? It was probably the worst developmental conversation I ever had. The first time I fired a student employee? The first RA recruitment logistics I planned? Probably the biggest logistical mess I ever made.

If the first time I did anything new it was going to be the best I’d ever produce, I may as well have retired after my first year of full-time employment. Otherwise, I would have had a very long and very disappointing career ahead of me. 

But I’ve since learned through experience that just because something was the worst doesn’t necessarily mean it was terrible. That first conference program proposal? It may have been the worst, but it wasn’t terrible. That first conduct meeting? It may have been the worst, but it also wasn’t terrible. Same with my first RA interview logistics and everything else I ever did for the first time.

I’ve been doing this full-time for 20 years and I still probably haven’t produced my best work. Otherwise, as my faculty member said, what is the point?

Thankfully, at the time of writing this, I’ve still got a bunch of years to go before my retirement. I wish I knew 20 years ago what I know now: I’ve still got plenty of time left to paint my so-called masterpiece.

J.C. Stoner, Ph.D.
Director of Housing Systems & Services at University of North Texas

By Paul Hamilton
October 13, 2026

Leading Before You Have All the Answers
What building an in-house housekeeping operation taught me about leadership

One of the inevitabilities of working in higher education is that eventually you will be asked to lead something you have never done before.

Sometimes it is a new program. Sometimes it is a crisis. Sometimes it is a new facility or a new responsibility that suddenly finds its way onto your plate. Regardless of how it happens, there comes a moment when you realize there is no training manual, no workshop, and no graduate course that prepared you for what comes next.

One such occasion for me came when our contracted custodial vendor gave us a thirty-day notice that our contract would be terminated and our department began the process of building an in-house, self-operation custodial program.

Like many housing professionals, my career path included residence life, student development, conduct, crisis response, facilities coordination, budgeting, supervision, and a variety of other areas that typically fall under the umbrella of housing administration. What it did not include was custodial management. I had never built a housekeeping program. I had never developed cleaning standards. I had never managed inventories of chemicals and equipment. I had never developed staffing models for a custodial operation.

Yet there I was, responsible for helping lead the effort.

At first, I approached the challenge the way many leaders do. I assumed I needed to become the expert as quickly as possible.

The more I worked through the project, however, the more I realized I was asking the wrong question.

The question was not:

"How quickly can I become a housekeeping expert?"

The better question was:

"How do we build a system that allows those with knowledge and expertise in this area, and those who will join our program in the future, to succeed?"

That shift in perspective changed everything.

Instead of trying to personally answer every question, I started focusing on understanding the larger system. What outcomes were we trying to achieve? What did our students need? What did our staff need? What standards did we want to establish? What structures needed to exist so that the operation could continue to improve long after the initial startup phase?

Some of the best answers did not come from me.

They came from frontline employees who understood the realities of the work. They came from colleagues who asked questions I had not considered. They came from peer institutions willing to share ideas and experience. They came from mistakes, adjustments, and lessons learned along the way.

As I reflect on the experience, one lesson stands out above all others:

Leadership is not always about expertise. Sometimes leadership is about creating the conditions for expertise to develop.

In higher education, we frequently find ourselves leading initiatives outside of our original training. A residence life professional may suddenly be overseeing facilities projects. A conduct officer may find themselves managing assessment efforts. A housing administrator may become responsible for dining, conferences, technology, or, in my case, housekeeping.

The instinct is often to believe that effective leadership requires immediate mastery.

I no longer think that is true (until the next time when I forget I don’t have to have all the answers, lol).

Effective leadership certainly requires learning. It requires accountability. It requires asking good questions and making informed decisions. But it also requires the humility to acknowledge what you do not know and the willingness to learn alongside others.

In some ways, the most valuable thing I learned from this project had very little to do with housekeeping.

I learned that building something new is rarely an individual accomplishment. It is a collective effort. Progress happens when people contribute different perspectives, experiences, and expertise toward a shared goal.

I also learned that systems matter.

Many organizational challenges are not the result of people failing. More often, they are the result of unclear expectations, inconsistent processes, or structures that do not support success. When we invest time in developing clear processes, defining standards, and equipping people with the right tools, we create an environment where success becomes far more likely.

At some point in your career, you will be asked to lead something that falls outside your previous experience. When that happens, remember that you do not have to begin with all the answers.

Start by learning.

Listen carefully.

Ask questions.

Focus on people.

Build systems that support success.

And trust that expertise can grow over time.

Looking back, I would never claim that I knew everything I needed to know when this project began. In many ways (ok, more like every way), I am still learning. But that may be the most important lesson of all.

When we were given the opportunity and challenge of building an in-house, self-op, housekeeping operation, I discovered that leadership is not about standing at the front with all the answers. It is about helping a team move forward together when no one has a complete map.

And sometimes that is exactly where the best learning begins.

Paul Hamilton
Director of Housing & Residential Programs at Angelo State University

By Ricky Williams
October 7, 2026

Sometimes I sit back and think about where I came from, where I am today, and the people who helped me get here. One thing I know for certain is that I did not get here by myself. There were people along the way who believed in me, opened doors for me, and gave me opportunities. To be honest, I do not know where I would be today if someone had not taken a chance on me.

I am originally from Dallas, Texas, and I was raised by a single mother. My mother dedicated more than 25 years of her life to education. Growing up, I did not fully understand how much her strength, sacrifice, and commitment to helping others would shape me. I understand it differently now, especially as I have built my own career in higher education.

In 2012, my mother passed away from pancreatic cancer. It spread quickly, and losing her changed my life. There are still moments when I wish I could pick up the phone and tell her about my day, share an accomplishment, or let her see the person I have become. I especially wish she could see the work I am doing now.

She spent her life serving others through education, and today I have the opportunity to serve students in a different way. I may not stand in front of a classroom like she did, but every day I get to support students and families during an important part of their college experience. In many ways, that connection makes this work personal for me.

Today, I serve as the Assistant Director of Housing Operations & Administrative Services at Tyler Junior College. My job includes housing assignments, billing, access, move-in preparation, and many of the day-to-day operations that keep housing moving. I enjoy that side of the work. I like solving problems, making processes better, and seeing months of planning come together when students arrive on campus. But what I love most about housing has never been a spreadsheet, a report, or an occupancy number. It is the people.

I love working with students and families. Being raised by a single mother gave me an appreciation for the sacrifices families make to help their students reach college. When a parent calls our office worried about a housing issue, I try to remember that they are not simply calling about a room, a charge, or a policy. They are calling about someone they love. That changes the way I approach the conversation.

The same is true with our students. We never know everything a student is carrying when they walk through our doors. Some arrive with everything they need and a strong support system behind them. Others are trying to figure things out as they go. Sometimes what looks like a simple housing question is connected to something much bigger.

Recently, I spoke with a student who was preparing to move into campus housing. During our conversation, I learned that the student did not have many of the basic necessities needed for the room. We could have stopped after making sure the housing assignment was complete, but that did not feel like enough. My team and I looked at what we had available and were able to put together bedding, towels, laundry detergent, and other essentials to help the student get started.

It was not a major program. There was no big announcement or recognition attached to it. We were simply helping a student who needed someone to care enough to ask, "What else do you need?" Moments like that remind me why I love this profession.

They also remind me of my own journey. People have taken time to guide me, encourage me, and see potential in me. Those opportunities helped me grow into the professional and leader I am today. Because of that, I never want to become so focused on my title or responsibilities that I forget what it feels like to need someone to believe in you.

That is one of the biggest lessons housing has taught me. Our work is important, but the people are more important. We have policies to follow, deadlines to meet, buildings to manage, and difficult decisions to make. Those responsibilities are real. Still, we cannot allow the operation to become so important that we overlook the reason the operation exists in the first place.

As I continue to grow as a leader, I want to be someone who gives others room to grow too. I want students to feel that they can come to us when they need help. I want families to know that we understand the trust they place in us. I also want the people I work with to know that I see their potential and that I am willing to help them develop.

I am proud of how far I have come, but I never want to forget the young man from Dallas who was raised by a single mother. I carry that part of my story with me every day.

I often wish my mother could see where I am now. I think she would understand why this work means so much to me. She spent her career serving through education, and I am grateful that, in my own way, I get to continue that kind of work by serving students and families.

I cannot tell you exactly where I would be if people had not believed in me. What I can say is that their support changed my life, and I never want to take that for granted.

Someone took a chance on me. Now, I have the opportunity to do the same for someone else.

Ricky L. Williams
Assistant Director of Housing Operations & Administrative Services at Tyler Junior College

By Stephanie London
September 30, 2026

Never in a million years did I see myself working in housing on a college campus. Sure, I lived on campus in college…in an apartment…never a residence hall. I enjoyed leadership positions as a student, but in programming boards and orientations programs, never as an RA or student staff member in housing. My path was always planning events and the world of student activities. That, I knew from early on in my college career. 

So how did I end up here? 

Funny you should ask – I’ll explain. 

I did take the path I always planned after graduating college, planning events at a performing arts center, then finding my place in student activities at my Alma Mater while working on a graduate degree, and ultimately moving up into different positions within student activities. Like most of us, at some point I started questioning if I was where I wanted to be and what was next in my professional career. After some soul-searching, I shared this with my supervisor to be transparent that I was ready for the next phase of my career. 

Fast forward a short time later and our Director of Housing was leaving for a great opportunity at another institution. My supervisor, knowing I was looking for something different, pitched the idea of being in charge of housing. What was my reaction? Well, I could only laugh. I saw the world of housing from the outside and saw the challenges. But the more I thought about it, I thought “I can do this!” 

Sure, I had no housing background whatsoever, but I had 15 years’ experience in higher education. When I broke it down, I thought “the basics are all there.” I mean I could plan an event easily, coordinated and executed creative marketing efforts, managed my own departmental budgets, oversaw all my departmental staff and student staff, assessed risks for activities, served as an advisor to the Student Government Association, took part in student conduct – I had all the transferrable skills. I just didn’t see it until I really looked at both sides of the coin. Plus, I had some encouragement from the outgoing Director of Housing. 

That’s how I ended up here; now serving as Assistant Dean of Students at my institution and in the role of senior housing officer, overseeing Housing and Residence Life. 

Was it an easy transition? Honestly, no. Regardless of having the skills needed to pull it off, I had a lot to learn in the housing world, while also being short a Resident Director and still serving in my role as Director of Student Activities until it could be filled. But I also knew those were temporary challenges – and I like a good challenge. 

Now, I’m in my fourth year working in housing (19 overall in higher education) and I truly believe that having no background in housing really helped me in my first year and still some today. Yes, I had to learn the ropes and the tricks of the trade, but I also looked at things from a new lens – a non-housing lens – and could ask the “why” we did certain things the way we did. I was really able to step back, and challenge my team to step back, and look at what we were doing. While we were left in a great place by my predecessor, we still challenged some concepts and had conversations about how to evolve our operation. After all, our students change so sometimes we have to as well. 

At the end of the day, I’d challenge you that if you’re wondering if you can do something you just aren’t quite sure you can do – go for it! Yes, you may have some bumps. Yes, you may have a little imposter syndrome. Yes, it may be a little scary. The reward is knowing you can do it – you can do hard things – and be successful. But, you’ll never know unless you try. 

Stephanie London
Assistant Dean of Students for Housing and Campus & Community Engagement at University of Arkansas Fort Smith

SWACUHO Executive Board Highlights

Meeting Overview

September 11, 2026

The SWACUHO Executive Board met on September 11 to discuss annual conference planning, membership recruitment, leadership development, sponsorship initiatives, and preparations for the upcoming Mid-Year Meeting. Highlights from the meeting are shared below.

Key Discussion Areas

Annual Conference & Program Updates

• The Program Committee reported strong momentum for the 2027 Annual Conference, with 56 program submissions received before the proposal deadline and expectations for additional submissions before closing. Current submissions represent institutions from each state in the region across a variety of topical areas. The committee also shared details about its enhanced review process, which includes providing presenters with developmental feedback prior to final program selection. This approach is intended to strengthen presentations and be developmental for presenters.

• The committee also discussed ways to promote selected conference sessions in advance as advertising to attend the conference.

• The Program Committee also shared information about the Virtual Program Series. The Board recognized the value of these offerings and encouraged continued growth and promotion throughout the year.

Membership Recruitment Progress

• State Directors provided updates on the ongoing membership drive efforts across the region. Outreach continues with institutions in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and beyond. Several memberships have already been renewed for the 2026-2027 year. Board members discussed strategies for continuing outreach and maintaining accurate institutional contact information throughout the region.

Leadership Recruitment & Committee Engagement

• The Board reviewed ongoing leadership recruitment efforts for Executive Board and committee positions whose terms conclude in February 2027. Members were encouraged to promote leadership opportunities, submit recommendations, and help identify future leaders for the association.

• A new leadership recruitment webpage was launched with position details and timelines.

• In addition, the Board discussed several committee vacancies and ways to increase committee engagement across the organization. Committee chairs will continue sharing committee goals and opportunities as part of an upcoming recruitment campaign.

Travel Grant Approved

• The Executive Board unanimously approved the creation of a travel grant program to support attendance at the 2027 SWACUHO Annual Conference. Board members discussed making the opportunity as accessible as possible by eliminating submission barriers and focusing selection criteria on demonstrated need and application quality. Additional information about the travel grant will be shared with members in the coming months.

Corporate Partnerships & Sponsorship Development

• The Board approved sponsorship requests supporting upcoming SHO initiatives and reviewed a draft framework for year-round corporate partnership sponsorship levels. Discussion focused on creating meaningful benefits for sponsors while maintaining flexibility and clarity around recognition and conference support opportunities. The Board recommended gathering additional feedback from corporate partners during the 2027 conference cycle before implementing a revised sponsorship model for the 2027-2028 term.

Mid-Year Meeting Planning

• Preparations are underway for the 2026 Mid-Year Meeting. Planned discussions include association financial philosophies, conference planning structures, strategic priorities, communication strategies, committee work, and other organizational initiatives.

• The Board also discussed opportunities for enhanced collaboration during mid-year committee meetings and focusing on the development of resources such as the SWACUHO involvement transcript and historical records project.

Treasurer Snapshot

August Updates	Current
August Income	$3,550
August Expenses	$8,108.66

• Updated budget details are available via the Treasurer’s shared Google Sheet.

• The Treasurer reported healthy association finances, including current checking and savings balances, membership revenue progress, and registration updates for upcoming events. Membership income has reached approximately 36% of the annual goal, while registrations continue for both the SHO Workshop and the 2027 Annual Conference.

Upcoming Events

• Texas State Meeting: September 29

• Frank Cloud Award Submissions: Due October 1

• Award Nominations Open: October 1 - November 2

• SHO Workshop: October 14-15

• SSLC: November 13-14

The next Executive Board Meeting will be held on October 9, 2026. Thank you to all Executive Board members, committee leaders, and volunteers for their continued commitment to advancing the mission of SWACUHO and supporting housing professionals across the region.

Questions or Ideas?

Reach out to your State Director if you would like more information about anything mentioned here!

Arkansas State Director
Leanna Payton
Henderson State University
arkansas@swacuho.org

Oklahoma State Director
Whitney Arbaugh
Northeastern State University 
oklahoma@swacuho.org

Texas State Director
Nicholas Brown
East Texas A&M University
texas@swacuho.org

By Gregg Suttle
September 21, 2026

Over my 22 years at Southern Methodist University, I had participated in minor furniture replacement projects and small-scale building refreshes.  However, the first time I ever had to manage a full-building furniture replacement, I had absolutely no formal training for the massive logistics required.

Virginia Snider Commons was built in 1926 and last refreshed in the 1980s.  It features 256 rooms with a mix of singles and doubles, layout options with suite-style rooms or community restrooms, and built-in desks on the Snider side.

Beginning the planning process in November, I needed to know exactly how much furniture to replace (spoiler: all of it). Because the building was fully occupied at the time, I had to base my initial purchase order numbers on what was listed in our StarRez occupancy software.

To select a furniture vendor for such a large purchase order, we reached out to contacts I had made at various SWACUHO conferences.  We ultimately selected Southwest Contract to supply the bed ends, bed frames, desks, and dressers.  They provided various room chair samples, which we used to gather feedback from residents, student leadership, and student staff to pick the winning design.  Next, I had to find a new mattress supplier because our previous vendor had gone out of business.  We followed the same process: gathered quotes, secured samples, and had the student staff test them out to provide feedback.

With all the orders finalized and the delivery scheduled, there was nothing left to do, correct?  Wrong.  

• Where was all the old furniture going? 

• Could we reuse any of the mattresses? If so, where would they go?

As it turns out, some of your greatest professional connections come from the people you meet at SWACUHO. Having met Ricky Williams at the conference the year prior, I reached out to him and a few other universities to see if anyone wanted our old furniture—provided they supplied the labor and transportation to haul it away. Fortunately, a couple of schools agreed, and the removal was scheduled.

But what about the mattresses? We operate on a 9-to-10-year mattress replacement schedule, and these were about 8 years old. We sent some to the fraternities to replace the ones they inevitably damage every year. That still left us with over 200 mattresses to dispose of.  We initially considered a recycling company to save them from the landfill. However, we had tried that once before, it rained on the mattresses, and the company refused to take them.  Once again, SWACUHO connections saved the day, I was given a connection for an individual who agreed to remove and recycle them at no cost.  It was a small team, and it took them three days to clear out the remaining 200 mattresses, but you cannot beat free.

As removal and installation day approached, I was hopeful that all my planning would pay off and everything would go smoothly. But we work in housing, and if something can go wrong, it likely will.  Because the building had been occupied during planning, I had been unable to gather a true, 100 percent physical furniture count. It turned out a couple of rooms on each side required extra desks above the stock count.  Thankfully, Southwest Contract stepped up and assisted us with the extra installation just prior to student move-in.

Key Takeaways for Future Renovations:

1. Leverage Your Network: Reach out to connections at other universities to see if they need secondhand furniture.  Also, check with your furniture supplier, as they often have great leads.

2. Physically Inspect Rooms: Always do a physical room inspection to get a total count of furniture needs prior to ordering and always order a few extra pieces for buffer stock.  I now utilize winter break or send out building-wide emails to schedule these quick room checks.

3. Prepare for the "What-Ifs": I once had a company promise to take all our old furniture, only for them to take 30 pieces out of more than 400.  Always have a backup plan ready to keep your inventory out of the landfill.

Conclusion: The Ultimate Housing Truth

Ultimately, this project taught me the most valuable lesson in student housing: expect the unexpected, hold onto your SWACUHO contacts like gold.  I survived my first full-building swap without any formal training, a landfill crisis, or a surprise rainstorm ruining my mattress inventory.  Moving forward, I am confident I can handle any furniture renovation project thrown my way. 

Gregg Suttle
Associate Director of Operations at Southern Methodist University

By Ricky Harris
September 16, 2026

Putting yourself out there takes a level of vulnerability that is often difficult to view as being worth the risk. Whether it’s seeking a position in an organization you love, applying for your dream job, or creating a new event or initiative, the risk of failure isn’t worth it to some. But I’ve taken risks, failed many times, and I’m here to tell you it was worth every bit of effort.

Many years ago, during my undergraduate time at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, while already involved as an RA and on my campus newspaper staff as an editor, I decided I wanted to give back more. I threw my hat into the ring for president of the student government association. I loved my institution and was grateful for everything it had done for me, so of course I wanted to serve it even more. I was all-in: I had shirts and posters made, talked to as many people as I could, and was sure I’d be at least competitive in the race. Heartbreak quickly took over as election night came and went, and I lost handily. I felt humiliated after taking that risk and failing miserably. But now, looking back after plenty of reflection over the years, I am grateful for the opportunity the experience gave me to tell my story and get to know many fellow students I may not have met otherwise. And that experience didn’t stop me from giving back; I just gave back in different ways instead.

When I first graduated with my master’s degree, the job market was tough in student affairs, especially housing. That can be difficult to comprehend with how things were during and after the pandemic, but I promise it’s true. I applied for countless jobs, went on a myriad of campus visits which led me to think I was never going to stop visiting airports, and received plenty of rejections. I didn’t receive an offer and start a professional position until mid-July after graduating, just in time to be thrown into a new department and a new state as trainings and move-in were mere weeks away. Throughout that prolonged job search process, the constant rejections chipped away at my confidence, leaving me feeling like I had nothing to offer. Yet, almost overnight, that isolation evaporated into a trial by fire. I was dropped into a new department where there was no time to doubt my abilities because there were schedules to finalize, crises to manage, and a campus full of students arriving in just a few weeks.

In 2019, while still serving as a resident director at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, I was appointed to the SWACUHO Executive Board as the Arkansas State Director. To say I had imposter syndrome would be the understatement of the century. I loved SWACUHO and my experiences thus far, but why was I on a leadership team with so many decision-makers in our region? Those first few executive board meetings were tough as I tried to find my voice. As a few months passed, and after conversations I had at the previous annual conference, I was ready to put myself out there and try something new. With the blessing of the board and support of colleagues in Arkansas, I got the green light to attempt to host a summer drive-in conference for housing professionals in the state. I knew it was a risky endeavor, but I also knew that we would never know if it would be successful if we didn’t try. After months of planning and nervousness about attendance continued, 70 professionals joined us in Conway for what would become an annual event. Our “low-cost, high-impact” event had succeeded, and pride gleamed from my face. Now, in 2026, the event had 99 attendees in its sixth iteration (thanks, COVID, for it not being the eighth) and is going strong as, arguably, a new staple event for our association. Taking that risk led to my continued involvement in SWACUHO, for which I now serve as President-Elect.

I tell those stories to reiterate this message: take the risk and put yourself out there. Yes, you might fail. But as legendary college football coach Nick Saban once said, “There can be no great victories in your life unless you overcome adversity.” Coach Saban is right. Whether it’s a lost SGA election or wondering if you'll get a job, the adversity is just the entry fee for the victory.

Ricky Harris
Associate Director of Residence Life at University of Central Arkansas

By Raechel Kepner

Throughout my career, first in Residential Education and now in Residential Facilities, I have been presented with opportunities that felt overwhelming and, at times, intimidating. If you are a lover of personality tests, my Myers-Briggs type is ISTJ, and it explains a lot about how I approach things in life. As an ISTJ, I have the tendency to take the safe route and stay in the areas that I can control or feel most comfortable in. The feeling of the unknown always made me nervous. 

Over the years of my career, I have had to challenge myself to get outside of my ISTJ way of thinking to continue to grow. One lesson I often think about when facing a challenge is something I learned in graduate school: be willing to say "yes"!

During graduate school, I took a class taught by Dr. Kenneth Stoner (J.C.'s dad!), who taught me a lesson that has stayed with me: be willing to say "yes" when opportunities arise. In the class, Dr. Stoner talked about how many opportunities he pursued began because someone asked him to take on a small role, and he said “yes”. After taking on these smaller roles, he talked about how he then began saying “yes” to other opportunities that were presented to him which furthered his career and expanded his ability to serve within the field.

Thinking about my journey so far, there were times that I wish I had said “yes” to opportunities, particularly when I was still new to the field. I look back and realize that my fear of the unknown overshadowed the lesson I was taught in graduate school. When looking for my first mid-level role, I started with the mindset of, “Yes, I think I can do that!” versus sticking with the things that I felt comfortable with. I recognized that saying “yes” also showed my team and department that I was a team player and was willing to help when needed. 

When I decided that I wanted to take my next step in a Senior-level role, the job I was considering seemed well outside of the student affairs comfort bubble that I was in. I talked with many people before I chose to submit my application because I was finding it difficult to picture myself in a different field. After encouragement and reminding myself that sometimes you just must be willing to say “yes” to trying new things, I submitted my application and ended up with the position. In my role now, I am constantly challenged to say “yes” to things that are unfamiliar to me but are helping me to grow and be able to better support others in the way that I have been supported.

One of my most recent moments of saying “yes” brings me back to my current role as SWACUHO Treasurer. When I originally was looking at positions within SWACUHO, I was only considering a few that were comfortable to me. It wasn’t until Dr. (J.C.) Stoner reached out to me and asked me to look at the Treasurer position that I even considered the idea of being in the role. I was a bit intimidated by the position description and all the pieces that came with it, and I almost decided that I was not going to run. After talking with my supervisor, Henry Moreno, and getting advice and some confidence boosting (thanks, Henry!), I did some reflection about my experiences and remembered that if I didn’t say “yes” to the opportunity to run, I would most likely regret it. 

It’s funny that even though it has been over twenty years since I had a class with Dr. Kenneth Stoner, his lessons (and his son) continue to help me grow in my career and the ability to give back to the Housing field. I hope that you too will be willing to say “yes” to the opportunities that come your way, even if it makes you feel uncomfortable initially. You never know where it might lead or how your experience could help you serve the field!

Raechel Kepner
Associate Director - Housing Facilities Services at Texas State University