doteduguru

Eric Stoller isn’t new to sharing his expertise on the web or to anyone who has read this blog for a while.  In fact I might go as far as saying he is one of the first people in Higher Education to start a blog and one of the few to keep it running (ok, so maybe Director of Web MarketingStoner got there earlier).  Eric has never been afraid to tackle the tough subjects and get in the middle of controversy over the years.  These are all reasons why he’s the perfect person to share his expertise on Student Affairs through a new upcoming weekly web show as part of the growing HigherEdLive network.  Eric was nice enough to answer a few questions for .eduGuru that tells us a little more about himself and his motivations for starting the show.

Guru: Eric, tell us a little bit about yourself, your history of blogging and your experise as THE Student Affairs Expert?

Eric: When I was an undergrad at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), I majored in Public Relations with a minor in Marketing. I had a couple of on-campus jobs doing website coding, public relations and marketing. I didn’t realize that I was working in student affairs at the time…a lot of people in student affairs get into the work when they are undergrads. I loved my collegiate experience and when I finally settled in Chicago after graduation, I found a job in student affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). As the marketing specialist for Student Development Services, I was involved in a variety of activities including: graphic design, event planning/management, media relations, marketing, public relations, videography, photography, and a lot of campus presentations. I fell in love with the student affairs profession while I was at UIC.

After UIC, I attended Oregon State University (OSU) to get a masters degree in education in the college student services administration program.  During my first year of grad school, I started blogging (Fall 2004) as part of my masters capstone project. Blogging became something that I thoroughly enjoyed and I’ve been writing / posting ever since. I frequently write about all sorts of higher education topics including: technology, student affairs, web accessibility, social justice, and any other issue that peeks my interest. Because my background is a bit more technical than most SA pros, I’ve always tried my best to bring a higher level of technology competency / awareness to the student affairs profession.

G: How has Student Affairs changed over the years that you have been working in the field?  How has technology impacted the changes?

E: Student Affairs professionals have increasingly used technology to enhance their practice. The functional areas within student affairs are quite broad and the biggest increases in technology adoption and adaption have mostly come from the following areas: Admissions, Registrar, Judicial/Conduct, Advising, Disability Services, Leadership, Orientation, Multicultural Affairs, and Campus Auxiliary Services. The impacts have been tremendous. Take Admissions for example, strategic enrollment management is just as complicated as the airline system. Enrollment systems are ultra-complex and designed for maximum efficiency and outcomes.

G:  What convincing argument to watch the show would you make for our readers out there who aren’t in Student Affairs?

E:  I plan on bringing in guests from a wide variety of student affairs functional areas. The topics covered will include: leadership, social media, mentoring, information systems, admissions recruitment strategies, association dynamics, marketing/communications, and the future of higher education in the U.S. Those are broad enough topics that anyone who works in higher education should be aware of / excited to learn about.

G:  So Student Affairs Live is now the weekly expert on covering the student affairs world.  What is your inspiration to start this?

E:  I’m really excited to make more connections and enhance the overall knowledge-base of this profession. While my blog at InsideHigherEd.com has certainly helped to expand my ability to reach a larger audience of professionals, I think that Student Affairs Live will add another layer to my student affairs work. The format of a weekly web-based show is thrilling! I want to introduce my network to a larger audience. It’s an exciting time to be in student affairs. In terms of inspiration, when Higher Ed Live asked if I was interested, my response was pretty immediate. Seth Odell is an awesome host for Higher Ed Live and the folks at Inigral have been extremely supportive.

G:  Certainly you already have a list of topics and guests that you want to have on the show?  Care to share any of those with us?

E:  The first guest is going to be a student affairs social media rockstar. On Wednesday, March 9th at 1PM PST, Ed Cabellon from
Bridgewater State University will come on the show to talk about social media, student affairs, and the future of SA tech. It’s going
to be great!  I’m hoping to get experts from all functional areas on the show as well as reps from higher education technology sphere. I’m going to be shooting video at the NASPA Annual Conference and at the ACPA Annual Convention. Conference interviews are going to be a major element of the show. I travel quite a bit, so I’ll be doing the regular show on Wednesdays at 1PM PST as well as posting videos from some of the most-respected folks in student affairs.

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Thanks Eric!  Hopefully everyone will be ready next week to tune into the first episode of Student Affairs Live at 1PM EST!