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Building on feedback from staff regarding the Assessment Summit, Staff Development Conference, and the Inspiring Excellence Awards, a new singular event, the Staff Summit will occur on May 13, 2026.
The event will be hosted for all Student Life staff members and feature sessions on assessment, review Climate Survey themes, a keynote, and culminate in the Inspiring Excellence Awards. This new format will allow staff to prioritize their development and connect with peers in meaningful ways, while also celebrating the accomplishments of peers across the division.
Student Life Staff Summit
Wednesday, May 13th, 2026
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Nebraska East Union
8:15 a.m.
8:30 a.m.
NEBRASKA EAST UNION | GREAT PLAINS ROOM
Check-In
Breakfast Small Bites and Refreshments
9:00 a.m.
NEBRASKA EAST UNION | GREAT PLAINS ROOM
Welcome & Overview
Dee Dee Anderson, Vice Chancellor for Student Life
Jordan Foreman-Black, Director of Assessment and Learning Outcomes
9:30 to 9:50 a.m. | Breakout Session 1
GREAT PLAINS ROOM A
A Ride Worth Taking: Inside the Success of Husker Late Night Rides
The ASUN Husker Late Night Ride Program was launched as a pilot during the Spring 2026 semester. Powered by Uber, the program far exceeded initial projections and proved highly successful in providing students with safe, reliable late night transportation. This presentation offers a comprehensive evaluation of the pilot, highlighting key outcomes, usage trends, and participant behavior. It also examines lessons learned, demand patterns, and presents data informed projections to guide future planning. Together, these insights demonstrate the program's value and outline a clear path for sustaining and scaling late night ride services.
ASUN Student Government
Ryan Lahne
Libby Wilkins
PRAIRIE SUITE A
From Contract to Campus Impact: Assessing Dining's Prime Vendor Transition
This session explores Dining Services' transition from US Foods to Sodexo through a comprehensive assessment of the prime vendor contract. Presenters will highlight how data, stakeholder input, and operational priorities informed vendor evaluation and decision-making. The session will walk through the full assessment cycle, from identifying challenges and defining criteria to analyzing proposals and implementing change. Attendees will gain insight into how procurement strategy can directly impact service quality, cost control, and student experience.
Dining Services
Lucas Novotny
Dave Annis
Brian Bollich
PRAIRIE SUITE B
Prevention as Professional Development: Connecting Learning with Life
Huskers CARE Peer Educators (HCPE) play a critical role in our campus prevention efforts, leading required in-person workshops on sexual assault and relationship violence for first-year undergraduate students. While fostering learning for their peers, HCPEs also gain significant personal and professional skills themselves. With support from graduate students in the Department of Educational Administration, we conducted an assessment to measure how our peer educators' experiences contribute to their development. We will showcase findings from surveys of both current HCPEs and alumni, highlighting how they interact in their roles and the overall impact of the peer educator experience.
Center for Advocacy, Response & Education
Abbey Ragain
Melissa Wilkerson
PRAIRIE SUITE C
Fraternity & Sorority Life: 2025 Community Culture Survey Results
Fraternity & Sorority Life partnered with Dyad Strategies during the Fall 2025 semester to complete a community wide culture assessment. More than 2500 students participated in the assessment that looked at the community's attitudes around brotherhood/sisterhood, hazing, sexual assault, sense of belonging, accountability, social standing, and ethical decision-making. The results were shared with the community on April 23 and FSL staff are happy to share the highlights with you!
Fraternity & Sorority Life
Leigh Thiedeman
Kate Reyome
Miguel Baeza Aguilera
10:00 to 10:20 a.m. | Breakout Session 2
GREAT PLAINS ROOM A
Reflecting on Residential Case Management: A Retrospective with SAS and Residence Life
This session will share lessons learned and wins celebrated after the first year of the residential case management partnership between SAS and Residence Life.
Student Advocacy & Support, Residence Life
Sarah Frankel-Russell
Jodi Bergstrom
Alonzo Whaley
Rob Andrews
PRAIRIE SUITE A
From Data to Delivery: How Survey Insights Improved the Nebraska Unions Experience
This presentation will highlight the Nebraska Unions event survey and, more importantly, how we have used survey feedback to make operational improvements in the building and event services.
Nebraska Unions
Hollie Swanson
Jon Shields
Carrie Jackson
PRAIRIE SUITE B
CANCELED: Popcorn Pop-Up
THIS SESSION HAS BEEN CANCELED | Since debuting in February 2025, the weekly Popcorn Pop-Up has grown to match its moniker as "the best hour of the week." Yet it has achieved this status by diligent monitoring and adjustment - and staying true to its stated goals and aims.
Student Leadership, Involvement & Community Engagement, Student Life Marketing & Communications
Christopher Dulak
Karen Wills
PRAIRIE SUITE C
Running Data and Making Changes: How Our New Database Helped to Improve Services for Students and Faculty
In Fall 2025 SSD launched Accessible Information Management (AIM), a new database designed to meet the needs of disability offices across the country. For the first time SSD can generate myriad data reports instantly and accurately. In this session, we will discuss and demonstrate the ways in which we implemented the assessment cycle throughout this academic year to maximize this recently available information. This approach helped us to streamline the accommodation process for students, provide more efficient processes for faculty working with students with disabilities, and enhance SSD's ability to assess and improve our services through data-driven reports and decision-making.
Services for Students with Disabilities
Pablo Rangel
10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. | Climate Survey 2026: Turning Insight into Action
NEBRASKA EAST UNION | GREAT PLAINS ROOM
In this session, we will provide an overview of the 2026 climate survey results. Participants will hear key themes and takeaways from this year’s survey and engage in roundtable discussion focused on areas selected for further exploration. Together, we will consider how these insights can inform continued improvement across the Division of Student Life.
12 to 1:30 p.m. | Lunch and Keynote
NEBRASKA EAST UNION | GREAT PLAINS ROOM
Lunch (provided) and Keynote by Dr. Carrie Lovelace Petr
1:40 to 2 p.m. | Breakout Session 3
GREAT PLAINS ROOM A
Housing Facilities & Husker HOME Hotline Collaboration
This session will highlight how Housing & Dining has improved the customer service experience for students, families, and guests through two new initiatives: the Husker HOME Hotline and FMX. The Husker HOME Hotline provides centralized first-level customer service support and FMX powers the FixIt work order system for Housing Facilities. Presenters will discuss why these initiatives were created, how staffing and technology changes improved service delivery, and what data from the first year tells us about response time, communication, student satisfaction, and possible areas of growth.
Residence Life
Bailey Tupper
Dan Hudson
Larry Shippen
PRAIRIE SUITE A
From Orientation to Connection: Redesigning an Early Staff Experience
This session offers a look at how the Student Life New Staff Orientation has evolved over the past year and what has been learned through early assessment. Attendees will hear about the goals and rationale behind recent changes, walk through the updated orientation structure, and review participant feedback that will help shape future improvements. Attendees will leave with insight into how early divisional experiences can support organizational connection, belonging, and a stronger understanding of one's role within the larger work of Student Life.
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Life
Ruth Oliver Andrew
PRAIRIE SUITE B
Counseling and Psychological Services Assessment Review
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) has been collaborating with The Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) since 2019. CCMH is the largest national database on mental health among college students, currently including 209 university counseling centers serving over 162,000 unique college students seeking mental health treatment. In this presentation, we will highlight the main presenting concerns addressed at CAPS and examine the impact of our mental health treatment for students at CAPS. We will also highlight the prevalence of unique stressors, use of crisis resources, and updated data reflecting recent changes in assessment and piloted services model.
Counseling & Psychological Services
Katie Meidlinger
Andrew Manocchio
Caitlin Tycz
Catalina Kuenzi
PRAIRIE SUITE C
Continuous Improvement in Action: Using Survey Data to Enhance the Residential Experience
Each fall, Residence Life conducts the "Community Experience Survey" to investigate students' experiences in our residence halls. This presentation will highlight key takeaways from the Fall 2025 survey, dig into recent trends, and discuss the steps Residence Life has taken to address student feedback. In addition, we will consider strategies for synthesizing large numbers of open-ended survey responses into actionable insights that participants can apply to their own survey and assessment efforts.
Residence Life
Abby Groth
2:10 to 2:30 p.m. | Breakout Session 4
GREAT PLAINS ROOM A
Belonging in Action: A Continuous Improvement Model for Student Culture & Community
The Office of Student Culture & Community (SCC) endeavors to celebrate culture, build a dynamic, supportive community, and empower students. This necessary and bold shift in operations affords us the opportunity to better serve our students in ways that align with the Student Life mission, vision, and guiding principles. The following presentation will outline SCC's mission, vision, and guiding principles, and how they influence programming and services.
Student Culture & Community
Kenji Madison
PRAIRIE SUITE A
Process and Development of the Financial Forecast
This spreadsheet was created and analyzed to show Total Income (Loss), Revenue, & Expenses from a current month perspective as well as Month Year to Date by cost center. The visual depiction of green and red arrows correlates to the difference being a positive or negative amount respectively. This snapshot overview allows for quick visualization of areas that are performing above budget or below. Leadership can easily identify how their areas are performing as it relates to budget from a cost center perspective as well as in totality.
Student Life Business Services
Le'Andre Moore
PRAIRIE SUITE B
From Understanding Impact to Making Change
In Spring 2026, Student Conduct & Community Standards (SCCS) conducted an assessment project to assess student learning outcomes for the Reflection Letter/Videos sanction/outcome. This educational outcome continues to use a restorative approach to help the student recognize how their choices impact members of their community and to encourage more intentional decision-making in the future. This presentation will review the assessment process over a three-year period, highlight key learning trends, and identify opportunities to further strengthen student learning.
Student Conduct & Community Standards
Kia Hill
Faith Obrerhor
PRAIRIE SUITE C
Launch Your Husker Experience: SLICE Transfer Student Initiative Engagement Plan
UNL identified lower retention and graduation rates among transfer students as a critical concern. Research shows that strong campus engagement supports student success, yet transfer students typically engage at lower levels. To address this gap, UNL advanced a strategy to strengthen transfer student engagement and support. SLICE collaborated with New Student Enrollment (NSE) to better connect with incoming transfer students. The program launched in summer 2025 with an assessment in Fall 2025, and a repeat of the program in Winter 2026 with some minor adjustments.
Student Leadership, Involvement & Community Engagement
Karen Wills
Veronica Riepe
2:40 to 3 p.m. | Breakout Session 5
PRAIRIE SUITE A
Taking your Program Review One Step Further
Campus Recreation completed their most recent program review in the Spring of 2025. One key recommendations was to identify Key Performance Indicators across all unit areas of the department. Attendees will learn about the process of selecting KPIs, how the data collection methods were determined, and outcomes for the selected measurable indicators of progress.
Campus Recreation
Amy Lanham
Logan Kahler
PRAIRIE SUITE B
Evaluating the Impact of Educational Talent Search: Reflecting on the Current Grant and Planning for the Future
This presentation will provide a brief introduction to Educational Talent Search (ETS) and examine how assessment of our current grant has informed planning for the next cycle. We will review strengths and challenges from implementation across our current 10 target schools in the Lincoln Public Schools, highlighting student and staff feedback that shaped key decisions. As well as discuss planned improvements for the future grant. The session will emphasize the full assessment cycle by showing how program goals, implementation experiences, data, and stakeholder feedback were used to guide reflection and action within ETS.
TRIO Programs
Zachary Short
Jamil Funnah
PRAIRIE SUITE C
Student Legal Services Impact
Student Legal Services tracks outcomes data on every case closed, including case type, attorney hours, client contacts, and financial impact. This presentation examines 25-26 YTD data to demonstrate quantifiable student impact: case volume trends across practice areas, the demographics of students served, and concrete financial outcomes including money recovered and liability avoided. Using the full assessment cycle, we walk through how SLS designed its data collection strategy, what the data reveals about shifting student legal needs, and how findings are driving service expansion decisions including new immigration services and a landlord accountability tool in development.
Student Legal Services
Jeff White
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Life
Ryan Lahne
Dessert Reception and IEAs
3:00 to 3:30 p.m. | Dessert Reception
NEBRASKA EAST UNION | GREAT PLAINS ROOM
As we conclude the inaugural Student Life Staff Summit, we invite you to join us for a dessert reception in celebration of our community. This gathering leads into the Inspiring Excellence Awards, where we will honor the remarkable Student Life staff who have been nominated and selected for this year’s awards.
3:30 to 4:15 p.m. | Inspiring Excellence Awards
NEBRASKA EAST UNION | GREAT PLAINS ROOM
Student Life will continue to recognize professional staff for their outstanding contributions to creating a holistic and transformative student experience. The Inspiring Excellence Awards celebrate individuals and teams who embody our Guiding Principles through honors such as the Be Present, Care Deeply, Act Responsibly, and Build Tomorrow Awards, as well as the Student Life Champion Award (award for an external partner) and Vice Chancellor’s Award for Campus Impact. The ceremony will honor one colleague/team per award whose dedication inspires excellence across our division and the university community.
Find more details at the Inspiring Excellence Awards website.
A dessert reception will precede the awards ceremony, beginning at 3 p.m., with the Inspiring Excellence Awards ceremony beginning promptly at 3:30 p.m.