This blog series features different writers responding to the prompt, “What is the future of the RD position and role?”
Guest Post by Sam Ferrigno, University of Maryland Baltimore County
As I enter my fourth year as a full time live-in professional, I’ve often found myself wondering if the RD position is at its core an unsustainable, burnout-inducing position. It’s a reasonable question, considering burnout is a common discussion topic amongst my fellow RD staff. As someone who was drawn to this position out of both necessity and passion, I’m optimistic that the answer to my question is “no”, but in order for that to be true, the position and its support structure need to evolve alongside our rapidly evolving work environment and student population.
Starting off strong, this semester alone, I’ve had to file more mental health crisis reports than in my 6+ year Residence Life career. As students return to in-person classes, the impacts of the pandemic are becoming clearer each day. Younger students who missed out on a significant portion of the traditional high school experience have underdeveloped social skills and are reporting being lonelier than they’ve ever been before, despite being surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands of peers who share their interests and passions. Older students who find the academic rigor of in-person classes to be too challenging of an adjustment from Zoom university often find their academic stress following them home in the form of roommate conflicts.
While it may not directly change the RD role, staffing and funding for mental health resources on campus need to rise to meet the increasingly complex needs of these students. Having more counselors on call and counselors that work in-hall hours will help to bring mental health resources directly to these students in crisis.
Another emerging conversation amongst RD staffs is the benefit of living on campus. For newer professionals in higher education, the opportunity to live on campus for free (sometimes with free parking and a meal plan to boot!) has an allure that some find irresistible. But the promise of housing is often too good to be true, as live-in staff are often met with apartments unsuitable for pets and growing families, compact spaces designed for short term tenants, and nosy neighbors (students and cockroaches alike, eek!).
The solution? Remove on-campus residency requirements for RD staff. Instead, use the increased revenue from leasing these spaces to students to increase RD salaries, design an innovative living space for staff to utilize during on-call periods, and determine an off campus residency radius. While the live-in model is a benefit for many newer professionals, I think you’ll be hard pressed to find veteran live-in staff who would wholeheartedly agree. After all, a benefit that is also a requirement isn’t really a benefit, is it?
Last, but certainly not least comes the universally dreaded line in every RD job description I’ve ever read: “other duties as assigned.” While it’s understandable that the RD job is a dynamic position in a work environment largely driven by student needs and top-down university initiatives, I hope that everyone reading this can empathize with the need for role clarity. I’ve seen “other duties assigned” transform RDs into healthcare providers, therapists, snow removal crew, head chefs, and personal shopping assistants to name just a few. My sincerest hope is that this was never the intention of “other duties as assigned”, but that doesn’t really diminish its impact on RDs who go above and beyond while doing a job that becomes increasingly unrecognizable by the semester.
I have a lot of hope for the future of the RD position, but it’s a bittersweet hope. I hope for a future that I know I won’t be able to wait around for as I get ready for next steps in my own personal and professional career. I hope for a future where RDs are still finding joy in their daily work after 5+ years on the job. I hope for sustainable change.
