WESTFIELD – Westfield State University Associate Director for Housing and West Springfield resident Joshua Hettrick has been elected president of the Northeast Association of College and University Housing Officers (NEACUHO).
NEACUHO is an organization of housing, residential life, and student services professionals within the Northeast region dedicated to providing opportunities for colleague support, professional development, research, and recognition of outstanding contributions to the field. At present, NEACUHO has more than 145 member institutions in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
“We are excited to see Joshua step into this leadership role for the region’s premier professional association for college and university housing professionals and student staff,” said Jon Conlogue, executive director of Residential Services and Campus Life. “I’m confident his dedication and drive will help him do great things with NEACUHO as he has here on campus.”
Hettrick, who has served at Westfield State since 2008, is responsible for all student housing assignments, coordination of break housing, room changes, and damage and reduction billing. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and computer information systems from Stonehill College, a master’s degree in psychology from Springfield College, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Johnson & Wales University.
As president of NEACUHO, Hettrick will preside over all meetings of NEACUHO, interact with and encourage vendor relationships, appoint task force and project teams, and maintain clear lines of communication regarding established goals, expectations, and special charges with the Executive Board. Hettrick has been involved in the organization since 2005 and has held many roles including Massachusetts District Coordinator of the Executive Board, Residential Operations Committee chair, and most recently, President-Elect (2014-2015).
As part of NEACUHO’s five-year strategic plan, Hettrick will evaluate the organization’s annual calendar of events and help create and implement a communication plan. Hettrick also plans to review NEACUHO’s corporate affiliate plan and how the organization can better support para-professionals in the field.
“Serving my colleagues is a wonderful opportunity that I plan to throw myself into so that the organization can continue offering its members the best professional development experiences possible,” Hettrick said. “The support of Westfield State University and our Executive Director Jon Conlogue has made this possible and I am very grateful to them for allowing me to serve.”
Hettrick’s term will end June 2016 with NEACUHO’s annual conference which will be held on Westfield State’s campus. For more information, visit www.neacuho.org.
