Huss ends stay with Res-Life

Friday, April 25, 2008

by Wes Burt

After serving as director of Residential Life for 23 years, Bob Huss will retire from OSU this summer. Huss has guided the renovations of Bennett and Stout, demolition of Willham complex and the continuing evolution of campus housing from dormitory living to suites and apartments, but his tenure was marked by the impression he made on students.

(April 25, 2008 Stillwater, OK) - Rather than facing his desk, the chairs in Bob Huss’ office sit in a circle, as if to signify that none in the room is more important than any other. The arrangement also conveys the sense of community he has helped sustain for more than two decades at OSU.

Huss, director of OSU Residential Life, will retire July 1 after 23 years.

During his tenure, Residential Life has grown from nine to 25 residence halls. Over the same period, OSU has claimed more National Association of College and University Residence Halls School of the Year honors than any other institution in the country.

Both are insignificant benchmarks compared to the impact Huss has made on the students who have worked with him.

“I think a role universities need to play is developing future leaders for society,” Huss said. “Residence halls and on-campus housing are in a special position to be able to do that.”

Throughout the years, Huss has advocated a high level of involvement by Residence Hall Association student leaders and student staff in housing affairs.

“Some institutions use their student staffs only in administering programming, and I think that hurts those institutions because they are not providing as many leadership opportunities as they could,” Huss said.

When students get to work alongside administrators, they learn a great deal about leadership, creating what Huss calls a “leadership laboratory.”

According to Kathleen Kennedy, adviser to the OSU Student Union Activities Board who has known him since she was RHA president and an OSU undergraduate in the early 1990s, Huss shows great faith in students.

“Dr. Huss really made an impact on my life as a student and is one of the people who encouraged me into the profession of student affairs,” Kennedy said.

Lee Bird, vice president of OSU Student Affairs, said Huss’ enthusiasm over the years has been contagious.

“More than anything else, I think about how many generations of student affairs and residential life people Dr. Huss has encouraged into the profession,” Bird said.

Campus Life director Kent Sampson added, “There are literally dozens of former student leaders and housing staff leaders working in aspects of student affairs all across the country who have come through our system and been influenced by Dr. Huss.”

Huss said he has enjoyed his time as director of OSU Residential Life but looks forward to retirement.

“I’ve heard of an administrator on campus who says he wants to die at his desk,” Huss said. “I always think, ‘I have a lot of other things I want to do.’”