Campus Life Graduate Assistant

Aurora University (AU) is committed to the transformative power of learning by creating a student-centered environment and an equity of experience and opportunity, to ensure that students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds feel welcome and included. Our culture of collaboration, generosity, and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty, and staff.

AU is grounded in the transformative opportunity it provides to a diverse student body. As a private university with a public mission and a commitment to making a difference in peoples’ lives, AU has a long history of resilience and of providing access to an education that values innovation, focuses on continuous improvement, and has a positive impact on the communities we serve. We are proud of our service to and economic impact on the state of Illinois, where over 80% of our students stay to live and work, where 90% of our students come from, and where we foster strong community partnerships to develop the workforce in areas such as nursing, education, business, technology, and social work.

We are looking for passionate and purposeful individuals who represent the full diversity of Aurora and who demonstrate a sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, ability, identity, and ethnic backgrounds present in our community. When you join the team at AU, you can expect to be part of an inclusive, innovative, and equity-focused community that approaches higher education as a matter of social justice requiring broad collaboration among faculty, staff, students, and community partners.

At AU we believe that continuous learning is a fundamental part of working life, and our goal is for all colleagues on our campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support our community by providing all employees with opportunities to engage in professional development activities, as well as a range of tuition and employee benefits that can be found here.

Position Purpose:

Reporting to the Assistant Director of Campus Life for Campus Engagement, the Campus Life Graduate Assistant for Campus Engagement will provide strategic support and for campus engagement and programming efforts, while emphasizing a student-facing, collaborative approach. Responsibilities include planning and leading smallscale engagement initiatives within the Office of Campus Life, in coordination with other campus partners that prioritize student engagement for both residential and commuter students. The Campus Life Graduate Assistant for Campus Engagement also coordinates efforts to gather student feedback throughout the year. Additional responsibilities include advising and supervision of Aurora University’s student activities board.
Core Competencies:
1. Represents Aurora University in the most positive manner with prospective, former and current students, clients, suppliers and the community we serve. Interacts effectively with a diverse group of faculty, staff, students and other customers of our service, learns and uses operating practices of the department and Aurora University.
2. Upholds the Mission Statement: At Aurora University, our singular goal is to empower students to achieve lasting personal and professional success. We do this by being an inclusive community dedicated to the transformative power of learning. As a teachingcentered institution, we encourage undergraduate and graduate students to discover what it takes to build meaningful and purposeful lives.
3. Handles all information with tact and discretion and recognizes the confidential nature of university business.
4. Supports learning through performance of essential job functions and performing other duties and functions as necessary or as assigned.

Essential Job Functions:

• Campus Engagement Programming – Lead the coordination of small-scale and series programming offerings that will offer opportunities for events and involvement for all students to participate in. Ensure the presence of weekend and evening programming opportunities in coordination with the department of Campus Life and other campus colleagues, as well as a varied and diverse offering of activities and events.
• Advising and Supervision – Serve as the primary advisor for the student activities board, SPEAR, within the Office of Campus Life and supervise board members in facilitating campus engagement programming events and marketing efforts.
• Coordinate Athletics Fan Involvement – Collaborate with Athletics to help support a student “Spartan Squad” fan zone and other initiatives for various sporting events, spurring interest in athletic events and facilitating travel to the Spartan Athletic Park for increased student engagement.
• Traditional and Large-Scale Event Support – Provide secondary assistance and support to the Assistant Director of Campus Life for Campus Engagement in facilitating large-scale and traditional programming offerings.
• Gathering and Organization of Student Feedback – Regularly plan and execute a diverse and varied number of efforts throughout the yearly cycle to collect campus engagement and event feedback from the Aurora University student body. Evaluate and adjust these efforts on a consistent basis to ensure that students are always made to feel heard and incentivized to share their opinions with the Office of Campus Life.
• Collaboration with On-Campus Colleagues – Facilitate relationship building with other departments to coordinate campus-wide events that will complement existing campus events and traditions. Actively seek out and identify opportunities for collaboration with a goal of providing further benefits to the Aurora University community.

Essential Job Requirements:

Education: Bachelors degree required.
Experience: Campus event planning experience preferred.

Skills:

• Analytical, critical and strategic thinking skills. The ability to interact with students, parents, faculty, and staff is a must.

Compensation includes full tuition for the master's program and $5,000.00 stipend.

The pay range referenced in the job posting is the budgeted amount the university reasonably expects to pay for this position. The final pay rate will not be below the lowest pay rate listed herein.

Benefit-eligible positions offer excellent benefits including health, dental, life, vision, long term disability, a 403(b) retirement plan through TIAA, and tuition remission.

Aurora University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.