Bruce Force, Director of Student Life at OSU Institute of Technology, recently graduated from the Council on Student Affairs Leadership Academy conducted by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

The leadership academy offers student affairs professionals an opportunity for advanced training and leadership skills development through in-depth workshops, seminars and forums.

The whole process took about seven months to complete, Force said.

“It looked like an opportunity to learn and meet others in the student affairs arena from colleges all over the state of Oklahoma,” he said. “It was an ideal occasion to meet others who are doing the same job and serving in the same area of student services and student affairs on other campuses. It was great to network and share ideas.”

Some of the topics addressed during the leadership academy included campus safety, minors on campus, enrollment, retention rates, graduation rates and budgets.

Force said he enjoyed the collaborative experience and working with mentors to discuss all of the different aspects of his work as student life director.

“It was very enlightening and exciting to get, give and share what has worked, what had to be tweaked and what did not work with certain groups of students,” he said.

And Force said he’s ready to take the knowledge and skills he’s learned and apply them to the OSUIT campus in Okmulgee.

“One thing we were challenged with is investing and reinventing,” he said. “I’m already planning some improvements and some repurposing to some of our outdoor spaces I think will help with student retention.”