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Page 2: President’s Message

Page 3: AIMHO College

Page 4-6: AIMHO 2007 Information

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Inside this edition

Ray Gasser

On behalf of all of the members of AIMHO, I wanted to send my condolences to the family and friends of the 32 victims of the Virginia Tech shootings. In the past few days, I know many of us have been watching the news coming out of Blacksburg and hoping that the campus can find ways to mourn the tragic loss and begin to heal. Discovering that two of the victims were Resident Advisors, one of whom was responding in his role as an RA, heightens the impact that this tragedy has on our roles as housing officers. We honor Ryan Clark and Caitlin Hammaren.

This tragedy also has had an impact on some of us in the region who lived through the tragedy of Columbine in 1999, the School of Nursing shootings at The University of Arizona in 2002, and the hostage incident at the University of Northern Colorado in 1996. These tragic incidents raise questions as to how can we prevent any future incidents on our campuses.

Unfortunately, we may not be able to do so in all instances. However, we can learn from one another and share best practices to make our residence halls and campuses as safe as possible.

At The University of Arizona, this incident has sparked a review of security measures in our residence halls as well as the convening campus-wide forums for our student staff to discuss the issue of safety. We will also be reevaluating our training protocols and emergency preparedness. Many institutions across the region are likely initiating the same discussions.

In an effort to help support the region, I have asked the Research and Information Committee to begin collecting institutional data regarding security measures in the residence halls. I hope you all will participate in this endeavor and hopefully we can all learn from one another and make our campuses that much safer.

President’s Message

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AIMHO College is a two-day experience designed especially for new housing professionals. It immediately precedes the AIMHO Regional Conference and provides an opportunity for new professionals to improve functional skills, gain self-awareness, network, and gain a greater understanding of the university housing profession.

The 2007 College in Flagstaff will continue to offer two trademark features that have proven indispensable for the new professionals in years past:

• FIVE faculty members will present at the College, including Sage Dave McKelfresh and Keynote Speaker Jim Tweety.

• This year’s topics are Supervision, Crisis Management, Assessment, Managing Budgets, and the 1st Amendment.

• Small cohort groups will be facilitated by the Faculty to enable new professionals to network, process through the presentation material, and build relationships early at the AIMHO Conference.

Faculty Nomination Forms will be available soon through the AIMHO listserv.

You are invited to nominate any member of our region who has something to offer our new professionals, particularly in the curriculum areas mentioned above.

Applications to attend the College will be available on the AIMHO website on August 1st. (www.aimho.org)

Dates for the College are November 3rd and 4th in Flagstaff.

Watch your email and the AIMHO Angle Newsletter for more information in the upcoming months. If you have questions, please contact: • committee chair Deb Coffin (deb.coffin@colorado.edu) • co-chair Sara Grijalva (sjgrijalva@admin.nmt.edu) or any member of the AIMHO College Committee.

Look Out Flagstaff! AIMHO College is Coming!

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Welcome to Flagstaff, Arizona: Home to AIMHO 2007

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Nestled at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, Flagstaff has the feel of a small town with the diversity and opportunities of a big city. It is home to both an historic district that treasures its past, and cutting-edge research facilities that embrace the future.

Flagstaff is surrounded by national forests, which adds to the beauty of the town and provides an abundant source for recreation. Flagstaff’s combination of altitude (7,000 feet), low humidity, and terrain provide mild weather conditions and clear air throughout the year.

In the spring, summer and fall visitors can enjoy hiking, camping, mountain biking, horseback riding, fishing and more. With winter snow comes skiing, sledding, ice-skating and sleigh rides in the snow. Upon arriving here, you’ll notice the fresh mountain air and rich smell of the Coconino National Forest, the world’s largest Ponderosa Pine forest, which surrounds the community. At night, thousands of stars are visible in our clear skies. We enjoy four seasons in Flagstaff.

Down the road" from one of the world’s most impressive natural wonders, the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff is the ideal home base from which to spend several days exploring our exciting region. There are many good reasons for this.

The Grand Canyon is Flagstaff's most famous nearby wonder, but certainly not the only one. Many other no less remarkable wonders surround Flagstaff: Among them are the red rocks of Sedona, Meteor Crater, the San Francisco Peaks, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, the Wupatki ruins, Sunset Crater, and numerous Native American communities. At anytime you can explore one of the many Indian ruins that surround the Flagstaff area.

Flagstaff is proud of its small-town friendliness that is shown to citizens and visitors alike. It is the hub of many of the state’s attractions, with easy access to two interstates and other major roads that lead to Arizona’s numerous natural wonders. Running directly through historic Flagstaff is the fabled Route 66, adding to Flagstaff’s character and charm. The local attractions have their own appeal to visitors.

There are a number of museums that tell the tale of Flagstaff and Northern Arizona’s history. The Lowell Observatory and The Arboretum at Flagstaff are interesting and educational for all ages. For entertainment local musical and theatrical groups provide full seasons of entertainment. Art galleries and exhibits can be found through out the town and feature the work of local artisans and national shows.

With one of the state’s three universities calling Flagstaff home, education is a major part of the community. Northern Arizona University not only provides an educational core, but offer venues for lectures, film festivals, and performing and fine arts. As host of the upcoming annual conference in November 2007, the Office of ResidenceLife at Northern Arizona University is excited to have you choose Flagstaff as your destination. Come be a part of this wonderful place we call home.

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Greetings AIMHO colleagues!

On behalf of the 2007 Programming Committee I’d like to thank everyone who submitted a program proposal for ourannual conference. We are excited to put together a dynamic programming schedule for you all that will challenge usas professionals and help us to share ideas across the region. Look for more updates as we approach November!

Speaking of our annual conference, AIMHO 2007 is scheduled for Sunday, November 4th-Wednesday, November 7thin beautiful Flagstaff, Arizona. This year’s conference will be hosted by our gracious colleagues at Northern Arizona University and has been themed “Choose Your Altitude.” This year promises to be one of the best; offering professional development, the opportunity to network with regional associates, and a chance to learn and grow through informative and innovative sessions. Join us as we experience Flagstaff, The University of Northern Arizona, and opportunities to meet and learn fromothers in our great region!

Keynote Speaker Highlights:

The Program Committee and the NAU Host committee are very excited to introduce one of our keynote speakers for the 2007 conference. Cathy Small is a professor of Anthropology at Northern Arizona University, but is best known for her book My Freshman Year. In this book Professor Small chronicles the research she gathered while immersing herself in undergraduate culture by becoming a student herself. This insightful and provocative book has garnered much media attention from academia and beyond as she sheds insight into the students at our institutions. Professor Small was named Teacher of the Year in social and behavioral sciences in 2004-05 and will be speaking to usabout her research and how we can better work with and for our students. We are very honored and excited to welcome her to AIMHO 2007 and hope that you can join us for her compelling talk.

We are also very excited to welcome our second keynote speaker, Jim Tweedy. Dr. Tweedy is currently the Assistant Director of Residence Life at the University of Delaware and plans to engage us with his dynamic presentation on bringing a stronger curricular approach to residential education. The idea that student affairs educators must view student learning as their mission and that student learning should not be viewed as the sole responsibility of an academic division is at the heart of the work that Dr. Tweedy has been involved with across the country. As a national leader in this area Dr. Tweedy has given talks and assisted with tasks at institutions such as Montana State University, James Madison University, University of Arkansas and Penn State. He is constantly traveling to teach other institutionshow to get started on forming a collaborative relationship between “both sides of the house” and how to write measurable learning outcomes that will help Residence Life departments assess the success of their programmatic efforts and staff interactions. He has also been very involved in the AIMHO region in the past and we are very eager towelcome him back!

The Program Committee looks forward to seeing you in Flagstaff in November!

Programming Update and Keynote Highlights

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