RESIDENTIAL LIFE & HOUSING IN FOR A BUSY SUMMER

The residence halls closed for the spring semester on Friday, May 13, at noon. That doesn�t mean that they are closed for the summer, however. In fact, summer is always a busy time for Residential Life & Housing (RLH).

RLH rents out its space in the summer to camps, conferences, training programs and other groups. This year, all of the summer conferences will be housed in Cougar Village. RLH is expecting 56 groups comprised of over 5,500 adults and children between May 22 and August 12. The groups range in size from 6 people to 335, and will stay on campus between one night and six weeks. The groups include UH Orientation programs, sports camps, cheerleaders, the Texas Music Festival and other music groups, computer camps, science camps and other scholarly groups.

Also, RLH has students who live on campus 365 days/year. Residents who were living in Moody Towers, Cougar Village or the Quadrangle have relocated to Cougar Place or Calhoun Lofts. So far this summer, Calhoun Lofts is 78 percent full and Cougar Place is 27 percent full. These residents will be provided with programming and services just as they were during the academic year.

Throughout the summer, Moody Towers and the Quadrangle will be closed to undergo extensive renovations to update and improve the facilities. The renovations include painting and replacing all of the carpet with flooring in all of the rooms and upgrading window treatments. The built-in furniture in Moody Towers will be replaced with new, moveable furniture, and the rooms will be fitted with micro-fridges. The solid oak furniture in the Quadrangle will be refinished. The wireless networks in both the Quad and Moody Towers will be enhanced, and the lounges will be upgraded. In addition, the rooms in Cougar Village will be fitted with mini-fridges. The renovations began immediately after the residence halls closed and are expected to be completed by the time the fall residents move-in.

Moreover, RLH conducts two intensive training sessions for segments of its student staff. The first is the week-long training for the Guest Assistants (GAs) conducted the week of May 16. GAs assist the conference attendees with check-in and check-out, provide customer service to guests and serve as liaisons for the guests of RLH. Resident Assistant (RA) training will begin on August 7 and last for two weeks, during which they will be trained on a wide range of skills and information such as community building, programming, UH resources and safety.

Furthermore, RLH will get a new Executive Director, Don Yackley, on June 20. This will give Yackley the rest of the summer to settle into the UH family and get ready for a new academic year.

Of course, as with every summer, RLH prepares for the possibility of a hurricane. Plans are put in place for both the possibility of evacuation and for sheltering-in-place. An evacuation destination is arranged; transportation is contracted; hurricane kits are restocked; ride-out teams are chosen and all staff are trained in emergency procedures and protocols.

All in all, it should be a lively summer.

For more information about Residential Life & Housing, visit our website at http://www.housing.uh.edu/.