Director of University Housing Mike Eyster believes living in a residence hall is a vital learning experience. After all, he discovered his future career while living in the residence halls at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
In addition to serving as housing director, Eyster was appointed the interim vice president for student affairs on July 1.
Eyster, who was the assistant vice president for student affairs prior to his interim appointment, said he did not devote nearly as much time to student affairs then as he does now. He estimated he now spends about 60 percent of his time on student affairs and 40 percent of his time working with housing issues.
His added responsibilities brought him a $30,000 stipend. He earns about $89,000 a year as director of University Housing.
Director of Residence Life Sandy Schoonover, who has worked closely with Eyster in his position as housing director, characterized his leadership style as “collaborative and participatory.”
“He is always willing to listen to new ideas and new thoughts,” she said. “I appreciate his great listening skills.”
Eyster’s skills as a mediator should be useful in his new position. As vice president for student affairs, Eyster is charged with overseeing a variety of groups and organizations, ranging from the Office of Admissions to Physical Activity and Recreation Services.
He plans to make the promotion of diversity a focus of his new job.
“(Diversity) is a campus-wide priority and certainly within student affairs,” Eyster said. “We have to recognize that the world is getting to be a smaller and smaller place.”
Although Eyster is new to student government, ASUO President Adam Walsh said that, so far, he is “taking all the right steps.”
“He is really engaged into being a good liaison between us and the administration,” Walsh said.
Eyster said he does not want to be a “placeholder” in his new position as vice president of student affairs, but also added that he does not want to assume the office on a permanent basis. When a new vice president is found, Eyster plans to resume his duties as full-time housing director, a role that he aspired to when he was an undergraduate.
“I am a little bit unusual,” Eyster said. “From the time I was probably 20, I knew what I wanted to do as a career field – I wanted to be a director of housing.”
As a freshman at Nebraska, Eyster was president of his floor. The following year he was president of his hall. After that he worked as a Residence Assistant.
When he began college, Eyster planned to pursue a career in teaching. After student teaching in an eighth grade social studies class, he changed his mind.
“It was totally devastating,” Eyster said, noting that his students seemed disinterested in learning.
He realized he was better suited to work as an educator outside the classroom.
“There are lots of ways to teach, and there are lots of ways to have an impact on educational environments and policy that affects students,” he said. “As I was getting close to graduation, I realized that what I had been doing as an RA was educational.”
As director of housing, Eyster works to integrate residence halls into the learning experiences of every resident.
Eyster has consistently supported steps to make living and learning complementary, Schoonover said.
“Mike has been an instrumental part in our residential FIGS [Freshman Interest Groups],” she said. “I would say between our academic initiatives, our community development and hiring, that we have made great strides in our residence halls.”
Eyster said that the Living Learning Center (LLC), which is scheduled to open next fall, will further the housing department’s goal of creating learning experiences outside of the classroom. The LLC is the first step toward Eyster’s goal of upgrading residence facilities.
“We need to renovate or replace every one of our residence halls in the central part of this campus,” he said.
Housing director serves as vice president
Daily Emerald
October 6, 2005
Mike Eyster has been the interim vice president for student affairs since July 1. Eyster is also the director of University Housing.
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