Resident Directors

Our Resident Directors (RD) are graduate students who have demonstrated the qualities needed for student success and are committed to providing a positive living environment for our students. These staff members directly supervise between eight and twelve undergraduate student staff or advise student leaders. RDs are typically supervised by a full-time Assistant Director.

The Resident Director is a part-time live-in staff member responsible for the overall or shared administration of a neighborhood of 370 to 598 residents, or administrative area. 

Application timeline

• Application opens: January 03, 2025
• Priority deadline: March 01, 2025

 

Discover the Benefits

Leadership Opportunities	Collaboration with Campus Partners	Free on Campus Apartment
Meal Stipend	Tuition Waiver	Monthly Stipend

 

 

 

Job Description 

Reports to:

• Assistant Director(s) of Residence Life

Job Responsibilities

• Support goals, values, mission of the department
• Serve in an on-call rotation for all residence halls
• Direct supervision of student staff
• Work 27 hours per week
  • May vary depending on high demand times such as move-in/move-out
  • 24 of those hours are expected to be weekly scheduled contact hours (Ex.: office hours, staff meetings, 1:1s, project work)
• Promotes a living environment in which there is a feeling of self-pride and respect for the residence hall/apartment/neighborhood and its facilities. 
• RDs may have an opportunity to work within one of the following specialized areas:
  • Residence Hall Management
  • Student Organization Advising
  • Marketing
  • Housing Administration (Occupancy  & Front Office Management)
  • Residential Programming
  • Facilities Management

RD Learning Outcomes

• Communication 
  • Demonstrate appropriate professional communication skills.  

• Collaboration/Teamwork 
  • Work collaboratively in a variety of settings with peers, supervisors, and supervisees.  

• Cultural Competence
  • Demonstrate social, cultural, and global competence through community engagement.  

• Conflict & Crisis Management
  • Synthesize training and other information to formulate the appropriate response to conflict and crisis situations.  

• Ethical Decision Making 
  • Demonstrate the ability to make decisions based on their personal and social responsibility to ethics 

Qualifications

• Admitted to a graduate degree program at Arkansas Tech University prior to appointment 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills 
• Skills in the areas of: Critical thinking, team building, initiative, and leadership
• Available to work a full academic year (July through May)
• Preferred: Previous residence hall experience or related student affairs leadership experience 

Contract

• Resident Director is an 11-month live-on position, with the option to work in the summer*.
• Resident Directors must be enrolled in at least six credit hours and a maximum of nine credit hours of study per semester. Any exception to this must receive approval from the Associate Dean for Residence Life. 
• Resident Directors must maintain a 3.0 cumulative and a 3.0 semester grade point ratio throughout the employment term. 

• During employment, the Resident Director may not hold any other assistantship, fellowship, student teaching, or other employment. Any exception to this must receive approval from the Associate Dean for Residence Life.  

• Participation in any extracurricular activities, including those as an officer in a campus organization, must be discussed and approved in writing by the supervisor prior to involvement. 

*Out of state summer internship opportunities will be limited due to the high workload in the summer months. We highly encourage our staff to seek local internships to accommodate academic requirements. 

Compensation

• Resident Director position is an 11-month live-in position beginning July 1st, 2025.
• Resident Directors receive the following:
  • Monthly stipend of $1,305
  • Furnished apartment (including all utilities)
  • Meal allowance each semester (including summer terms if working)
• Resident Directors are responsible for student fees.

Tuition Waiver Information

• The Resident Director benefits package also includes a tuition waiver (inducing out-of-state) for full-time graduate students for up to 18 hours per year for those with contracts beginning on July 1 and ending May 31 each year.
• For those beginning their contract with the spring semester, up to 9 hours for the spring and summer semester combined will be available.
• Resident director may utilize summer tuition waivers under the following parameters: Register for classes by June 1, have an active resident director contract at the time of enrollment, and maintain an active employed status with the Department of Residence Life.  

 Professional Development Opportunities

• Each Resident Director receives professional development opportunities each academic year. The department will support attendance to the annual Southwest Association of College and University Housing Offences (SWACUHO) regional conference and attendance to one of the following fall conferences: Academic Initiatives Conference, Institute for Curricular Approach, Business Operations, and Housing Facilities. 

DOWNLOAD JOB DESCRIPTION [PDF]

How to Apply

• Click on the button below
• Submit cover letter/letter of interest, resume, and 3 references to Jessica Crabaugh, jcrabaugh@atu.edu.

RESIDENT DIRECTOR APPLICATION