UW-Stout Housing assistant director awarded for dedication to student residential experience

For her dedication to enhancing the residential experience for on-campus students at UW-Stout, Assistant Director of Housing Dana Fritz received a regional award from her professional association.

She received the Outstanding Mid-Level Professional Award at the annual conference for the Upper Midwest Region of the Association of College and University Housing Officers, held recently in Springfield, Mo.

Fritz has been at UW-Stout for more than 15 years. She was nominated by Director of Housing Adam Ludwig, who has worked with her since 2010.

"Dana is the backbone of our administration operations," Ludwig said.

UW-Stout Assistant Director of Housing Dana Fritz, center, with student operations managers Zak Frank and Francis Kaunda

Fritz coordinates the Housing assignment process for students, including all communications that families and prospective and yielded students receive, from room selection to the move-in process and accommodations along the way, as well as ensuring students have a housing assignment and the accuracy of the billing process.

In 2015, when Housing experienced an organizational overhaul, Fritz moved from being a hall director to operations coordinator with the central leadership team. She restructured multiple processes, transitioning from a model that relied on 11 hall directors to one managed by five residence life coordinators.

"Her creativity, student-focused approach, and operational acumen were critical in ensuring a smooth transition," Ludwig said.

Now, as assistant director for Administrative Operations, Fritz challenges the Housing team to prioritize equity, whether in addressing student accommodation needs, guiding programmatic initiatives, overseeing building renovation projects or shaping departmental language.

She spearheaded the centralization of Housing's desk operations and the creation of a new student operations manager position, supervised by the central office. This initiative allowed live-in staff to focus on students' mental health needs without the distraction of administrative tasks.

"Dana empowers students by finding creative ways to give them meaningful roles and leverage their strengths for the benefit of the department," Ludwig said.

The student team was named Student Staff Team of the Year at UW-Stout's 2024 Leadership Awards.

In response to the pandemic in spring 2020, when the nation's universities and colleges moved to alternative learning methods, Fritz quickly devised an efficient move-out process for the majority of campus residents while coordinating temporary housing for students who had no alternative accommodations.

Working closely with Facilities, she developed a comprehensive summer cleaning plan to prepare campus housing for fall occupancy and played a key role in transforming the move-in process to meet the requirements aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19.

"Her innovative week-long move-in strategy remains in place today due to its high satisfaction ratings and reduced strain on staff resources," Ludwig said.

The Upper Midwest Region of the Association of College and University Housing Officers covers eight states and Manitoba, Canada.

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