IPDS ’25 Draws 23 Young Professionals to Indiana University
The midwestern campus of Indiana University–Bloomington and Indiana Memorial Union again served as the magnet for new college union and student activities professionals to gather for ACUI’s annual IPDS: New Professionals Seminar, a four-day on-site series of educational sessions, tours, and networking events designed to prepare professionals for a successful future.
The seminar attracted a diverse group of 23 professionals from 21 different institutions that ranged from a small, private, religious-affiliated campus to public universities scattered from California and Oregon to Virginia and New Jersey. Attendees represented specialties like facilities and operations coordinators, commuter life and event coordinators, and program and student experience directors.
The four days of programming, from July14–17, included presentations by higher education professionals from Indiana University, ACUI Chief Executive Officer John Taylor, and a number of visiting ACUI professionals that included Ohio University Student Center Director Geoff Combs, ACUI President Ian Crone, Indiana University–Indianapolis Campus Center Director and Associate Vice Chancellor Joe Hayes, Indiana Memorial Union Executive Director Hank Walter, and Ruby Lepe, associate director of student centers at the University of Illinois–Chicago.
An added opportunity for attendees to mingle with ACUI volunteers came early in the week when overlapping schedules allowed for IPDS guests to share a meal and network with ACUI regional directors, who were visiting the campus for an Association planning meeting. Around 40 people attended that evening event in the Indiana Memorial Union Garden outdoor dining area; and later in the week, IPDS attendees received service at a variety of union dining venues, including its new Vault Pub for an outdoor dinner, a lunch buffet in the formal Tudor Room, and a closing night banquet in the union’s exclusive Federal Room, where the walls are highlighted by handmade wallpaper representing different American landscapes and made in 1834.
Sessions included an exercise in empowering team culture where Indiana University Coordinator of Retention Services Molly Burke asked the attendees to share a time when they felt valued and when they felt undervalued, a conversation that at one point had Burke noting that “micromanaging can devalue what you are trying to accomplish.”
Other colleagues from Indiana University were also on hand to educate. Lauren Baines, director of health promotion, and Bobbie Saccone, associate director for health promotion for nutrition programming, delivered a session on supporting student success through supervision with well-being in mind, and associate vice president for student engagement and well-being Roosevelt Noble shared how data can be turned into student engagement metrics and then effectively shared. Additional sessions included “Budget Management – Advocating for Your Needs,” “Career Foundations and the Role of the College Union,” and “Student Employee Training.”
Tours included a visit to the Indiana University–Indianapolis Campus Center and the following sites at IU: Auditorium, Assembly Hall (basketball), Memorial Stadium (football), and Armstrong Stadium, where the university’s storied Little 500 student bicycle races are held each year.
Nominations are now open for the 2026 Chuck Morrell New Professional IPDS Scholarship and will remain open through November 20. The scholarship covers the registration cost to the seminar. Visit here for award criteria, eligibility, and nomination information.
