The Division of Student Affairs prides itself in being a tight-knit bunch.
By the time the department’s second-annual basketball tournament rolled around, participants were quick to form a team and secure a costume in the hopes of winning the night’s “best dressed.”
About 70 Student Affairs employees signed up to play on 16 teams, including student workers. The Division of Student Affairs has many departments including Residential Housing, Event Services, Campus Recreation and Community Standards.
Those who participated included Jenny Hall-Jones, dean of students, Pete Trentacoste, executive director of Residential Housing, Dusty Kilgour, executive director of Event Services, and Imants Jaunarajs, assistant dean of students for the Career and Leadership Development Center.
“Really it’s just a collaborative effort across our division to bring staff together and have a fun opportunity as we think about how we can invest more into wellness,” said Jneanne Hacker, associate director of assignments in Residential Housing who also organized the tournament.
The single-elimination tournament was held in Ping Center.
Though Ryan Lombardi, vice president for Student Affairs, didn’t play, he attended to cheer on his employees.
“What makes my job easier is that I know that I can pick up the phone and contact somebody in the dean of students or somebody from community standards or somebody from student accessibility services to help a student be successful here on campus,” Hacker said. “Because we have that common goal there certainly is a cohesion in which we really all come together and we work together and there’s a collegiality that I think is really unique to Ohio.”
The closeness of the division has left an impact on Kent Smith, now the president of Langston University, in Langston, Okla. and previously Lombardi’s predecessor as OU’s vice president for Student Affairs.
“For me, I think what separates Ohio University from most is they hire a very good team of people who have one commonality and that’s (a) love of working with students and a desire to help them develop,” Smith said.
Smith worked at OU for six years — the longest he said he has ever worked at one place in his professional career.
“The Division of Student Affairs at Ohio University is one of the best in the country, I really do believe that,” Smith said.
The night’s winnings, which included Hacker and Kilgour’s team placing first, will be later distributed at a professional development opportunity for the department.
Lombardi said he sees the tournament as a way to keep the people in his department happy.
“I believe that if you don’t take care of your people, they aren’t going to be able to take care of … students,” Lombardi said.
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