The high in Carbondale today is supposed to be close to 80°, and that’s usually a pretty good sign that summer is coming. As the weather heats up, so does my schedule. My name is Gena Stack and I serve as the Coordinator of Conference Services for University Housing. I work with scheduling residence hall rooms and meeting spaces for conferences and events within University Housing facilities. We are currently lucky that two of our buildings are not in use for student housing, so we have the opportunity to provide conference lodging year-round to programs through our Center for English as a Second Language, visiting faculty, and participants in student and community conferences on campus. While we have groups that come in throughout the year, summer is definitely our busiest time.
To give you a sense of our operation, I’ll throw some of our 2010 numbers around. 51 is the number of groups we housed on campus last summer (we had 4 each in spring and fall 2010). 4,377 is the number of people who stayed on campus summer 2010 and $461,561 is the amount of revenue that was generated by conference services last summer. Our largest group had 1,089 participants, and our smallest had only 1 person. Some groups stayed only one night on campus; some stayed for the entire summer.
Okay, enough of the numbers game. Hopefully that gives you a sense of the scope of our operation. You might be wondering where all the money goes. In addition to paying the regular operational costs (the water and electricity stay on regardless of whether the building is occupied), conference revenue goes towards projects that improve the aesthetics and efficiency of our buildings. The Mission of University Housing includes the phrase “high-quality, affordable” and we couldn’t accomplish our mission of being both without the funding that comes from conference services. Besides providing additional revenue for University Housing and allowing us to keep our rates low, Conference Services provides an affordable and convenient lodging option for departments and groups on campus. Many of the groups that stay with us could not afford to host a conference if they had to pay hotel rates for lodging. In addition to the financial benefits for the university, we also play a role in recruitment and retention of students for the university. Regardless of how our guests may be, we like to think of them all as current or prospective Salukis!
My favorite thing about my role as the Coordinator of Conference Services is the amount of collaboration I am able to do with other units within Housing and other departments on campus. Having opportunities for collaboration when I was a Hall Director (my role at SIUC before I got this position) helped prepare me for what I’m doing now. I have to communicate with our Custodial team on a daily basis, and I work regularly with Residence Hall Dining, Contracts, Marketing, and Accounts Receivable to make sure things are running smoothly. Outside of Housing I have regular interactions with staff in the Division of Continuing Education, the Center for English as a Second Language, Recreational Sports and Services, the College of Engineering, and other academic departments and campus support offices. Hall Directors and other staff who work with conferences during the summer share this opportunity, and have found it to be valuable not only in working with conferences but it helping their students during the academic year as well.
In addition to conference lodging, University Housing provides housing for students enrolled in summer classes. Between everyone who stays with us, we may have up to about 30% of our spaces occupied at any time during the summer, so there is always something going on! However, we still manage to have time for fun during the summer. Whether that means a day at one of the lakes near Carbondale, an evening at a free outdoor concert, or an afternoon wine tasting at one of the nearby vineyards, you can guarantee that there’s an opportunity to kick back, relax, and enjoy the slower pace of summer in Carbondale. I can’t wait!
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