Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 56

SNAPSHOT

JOHN BIERNBAUM
THE R E IS TR E ME NDOU S PR E S S U RE TO KE E P RATES D OWN, A ND WE A RE BEING A S KE D TO FO C U S M UC H MORE ON NEEDS , NO T WA NT S , A S O U R B UDGETS A ND PR OG RA MS A RE M OR E A ND MO RE S C R UTINIZED .
What makes your campus unique?
It is the home of the Leathernecks. We are the only campus in the United States to officially petition the Marine Corps in order to receive permission to use the official Anchor and Chain Marine symbol.

What’s the first thing you do when you get into the office each morning?
Check my email and read a devotional that Derek Jackson from Kansas State University gave to me after I read about it in this same column.

What’s your biggest challenge on campus?
Cash flow and the state of Illinois paying its bills. It overshadows everything we do on campus right now. As I write this, they are $41 million behind in payments.

What’s the biggest issue for the students on your campus right now?
Finding ways to achieve an affordable education in a very cash-strapped state.

Last meal at a campus dining hall?
Grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup at lunch today. I eat in the dining hall every day, which has been unkind to my hourglass figure over the years. I should have had the grilled chicken and a banana, but what do you do?

What’s the biggest issue you see facing the profession right now?
Doing more with fewer resources. There is tremendous pressure to keep rates down, and we are being asked to focus much more on needs, not wants, as our budgets and programs are more and more scrutinized.

Favorite campus traditions?
Band playing “Georgia on My Mind” at half time of football games and painting the “Rocky” statue outside of the stadium.

What’s on your office walls?
St. Louis Rams Summer Training Camp posters from when WIU hosted them for a decade. A ton of Western memorabilia and blocks of letters that say “Thou Shalt Not Whine.”

What’s on your computer’s desktop? What resource can’t you live without?
The staff I work with each day – with email coming in close second. Picture of Max and Maddie, my Jack Russell and my Lab rescue, who always are excited to see me at the end of the day.

When was the last time you awoke to a phone call from work in the middle of the night?
Last month when I held the campus emergency phone for the week.

What qualities do you think are important in a housing professional?
Hard work, flexibility, sense of humor, and critical thinking.

What do you wish was different about your job?
More time to read and interact with students.

How do you tell your staff you appreciate their work?
It really depends on the staff member to be honest. Regardless, I try to make sure they know it is sincere.

New social technology and media like texting and Twitter: How has it helped your communication with staff and students? Is there a downside to this type of communication?
I am a little bit of a technophobe but have in the past year signed up on Facebook and Twitter; I have yet to use the Twitter account. I text if I can reply in fewer than five words. When I retire, I may start a blog – but not until then. All this technology is clearly changing the way we communicate, especially among young professionals. I am a little worried that our students and younger staff are forgetting how to have meaningful face-to-face conversations.
56
T TAL KING TALKING STICK

What are you doing when you’re not on the job?
Walking dogs, watching sports, reading, or smoking a cigar – that is how I relax.

Have you gotten any unusual housing or amenity requests? What were they?
A therapy cat and refrigerator to hold blood come to mind when I think of odd requests.

JOHN BIERNBAUM is the associate vicepresident for student services at Western Illinois University in Macomb.



Talking Stick - September/October 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - September/October 2011

Talking Stick - September/October 2011
Contents
Online Now
Vision
Just In
Your ACUHO-I
Transitions
Res Life
Special Focus
Calendar
Making the Most of Assessment Results
Taming the Multi-Headed Beast
Conversations
First Takes
Reporting Out
Welcome
Snapshot
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Intro
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - BB1
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - BB2
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Talking Stick - September/October 2011
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Cover2
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 1
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 2
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Contents
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Online Now
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 5
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Vision
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 7
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Just In
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 9
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 10
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 11
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 12
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Your ACUHO-I
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 14
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 15
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Transitions
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 17
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 18
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 19
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Res Life
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 21
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 22
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 23
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Special Focus
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 25
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 26
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Calendar
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Making the Most of Assessment Results
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 29
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 30
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 31
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 32
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 33
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 34
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 35
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Taming the Multi-Headed Beast
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 37
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 38
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 39
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 40
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 41
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 42
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 43
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Conversations
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 45
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 46
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - First Takes
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Reporting Out
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 49
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 50
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 51
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 52
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 53
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Welcome
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 55
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Snapshot
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Cover3
Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - Cover4
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