How Student and Employee Engagement Pays Off with Gill Hunter, PhD

Sarah Holtan, PhD welcomes back Gill Hunter, PhD, Presidential Fellow for Experience and Engagement at Eastern Kentucky University, to explore the essential strategies for making colleges feel like a second home to students. Gill shares insights and actionable approaches that are reshaping student retention and engagement.Imagine your daughter is hesitant about college after a rough high school experience. Then, an advisor walks her to class, sparking a connection that changes everything. Gill’s personal story drives home the critical role of genuine human interaction in education. He debunks sterile, transactional terms like "stakeholders" and advocates for student-first relationships.Curious about how transforming college environments through simple, sincere actions can enhance student and employee satisfaction? Tune in to discover the powerful impact of hospitality and engagement from Gill’s unique experiences.Episode Highlights:05:47 - Students have choices, and if we don't acknowledge that students have those choices, then we're doing a disservice to our relationship with them.16:32 - If we just do it to say we did it, and we don't have the right people looking at that information, and not just looking at that information, but using it to make decisions, to change practices, to create communications that go out to the campus community, if we're not using that information, then we're just spinning our wheels with it.18:13 - The game we often play as faculty members is, this student gave me a bad evaluation because I don't know who the student is, but I'm sure that that student has a grudge to bear, that that student must not have gotten it.29:53 - The fallout is that the people who have to shoulder that load feel underappreciated. They feel overworked or overburdened. They will risk burnout. They feel like there are other opportunities that they too should pursue because they've seen someone else successfully land another job.Sarah Holtan, PhDLinkedInWebsite Gill Hunter, PhDWebsiteLinkedIn