Residence Life Career Staff

Interested in joining the Residence Life team at UW-Madison? Check out more information about our department, our staff, and more.

Residence Life is part of the Division of University Housing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. As a student service, our University Residence Halls provide quality living and learning environments and programs to over 8,500 undergraduate student residents in 21 Residence Halls.  Residence Life is responsible for the student, staff, and programs that create intentional inclusive living and learning environments.

Why Work with Us:

Our mission is to provide a safe and inclusive environment that supports personal development, community engagement, and academic achievement.

A few of our highlights to make this happen are:

• Diversity in Supervision of Student Staff Positions: positions encourage leadership, excellence, compassion, and creativity. Some student positions that could be supervised are:
  • House Fellows (i.e. Resident Assistants)
  • Residence Life Team Assistants
  • Learning Community Program Assistants
  • Lead Peer Mentors
  • Peer Mentors
  • Center for Culture Enrichment Program Assistants
  • Late Night Coordinators
• A student population focused on high achievement and shared governance: student staff members look to excel in all aspects of their college experience. They advocate for each other to ensure a positive experience for everyone living in the Residence Halls.
• Department organization focused on specialized areas: Residence Life creates, evaluates, and updates our policies and procedures to ensure staff at all levels feel supported. Specialized areas include:
  • Residential Education – Academics, Learning Communities
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Student Assistance and Behavior
  • Student Engagement & Advocacy
  • Student Staff Selection, Training, Development
  • Professional Staff Recruitment
  • Professional Staff Training & Development
  • Assessment
• Divisional collaboration: as part of a larger Housing division, our staff get to interact with our many different department partners in a variety of ways. This can range from collaborating with Dining & Culinary Services for events, our Facilities team to work on sustainability services, our Assignments Office for summer information, and more. Collaboration helps build and maintain our Housing core values of creativity and excellence!
• Campus partnerships: many Residence Life Coordinators partner with campus offices to expand their professional interests and experiences for future aspirations. Examples include:
  • Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards
  • Dean of Students Office
  • Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR)
  • Cross College Advising Services
  • Many other areas depending on individual interests
• Residential curricular approach: adding intentionality to our programming model and building an experience set to scaffold student experiences within our halls has been an ongoing priority for Residence Life. Our work purposefully creates an environment centered around student success and promotes a positive learning experience.

Job Perks:

• State employment benefits as academic staff
• $2000 Professional development funds (continued learning courses, professional conferences, books)
• 12-month positions
• Dining discount
• Laptop
• Business discounts
• Remote work (20%)

Live-In Position Additional Perks:

• Pet policy (one pet allowed with no restrictions on breeds or sizes for dogs)
• Partner/additional occupant policy
• Parking permit
• Two-bedroom furnished apartment (cable, internet)
• Washer/dryer access

Residence Life Committees

Professional staff have the opportunity to serve on one or more departmental committees. Committee assignments are determined by a combination of individual preferences and staffing needs. Committee work promotes professional growth and encourages interdepartmental collaboration.

Time permitting, professional staff also have the ability to join divisional and/or campus-wide committees. In pursuing these opportunities, staff represent Residence Life on a broader scale while also acquiring novel experiences.

Residence Life Specific Committees:

• Wisconsin Residential Experience
• Inclusion, Diversity, Education, and Advocacy
• Student Staff Recruitment and Development

Testimonial:

“I have worked as a large-scale programming coordinator in University Housing for 2 years now. I began working with University Housing and Residence Life when I was a graduate student here at UW Madison. I have always had a passion for higher education, improving the collegiate student experience, and finding a place in UW Madison’s Residence Life team allowed me to explore that passion even deeper. After graduating, I decided that my time at UW Madison was not yet over, and I accepted a position that feels as if it had been made for me. Working with the Residence Life team has been a transformative experience for me, both personally and professionally because the person I am and the work that I produce are highly valued and appreciated here. Through my work, I can better positively shape our students’ experience through community engagement and programming, as well as grow and develop my own skills and knowledge.” — Ashlee Barton, Special Projects Coordinator