Today's Update: Residential Experience Transformation

September 30, 2026

Dear Student Life team,

Thank you to everyone who attended or watched online our Scarlet and Great Gathering this morning. If you couldn’t make it, you can still watch the video replay. 

I hope I gave you a helpful overview of the state of Student Life. If there is one takeaway, it’s that we are doing Scarlet and Great work and are perfectly poised to do even better. I’m very excited about where we go from here, guided by our strategic plan and by President Bellamkonda's priorities, which are now our priorities. Student Life doesn’t exist to put on programs; we exist to create opportunities to help students engage, learn and thrive. We are an integral part of the overall success of the university.  

This is especially clear in the initiative that the university announced this afternoon—the Residential Experience Transformation. You should have received an email outlining the effort a short time ago, and you can read about it online.

You have likely heard me talk about the “iconic Ohio State residential experience.” In Student Life, we have gone to great lengths over the years to ensure that we provide more than a place to live, and instead a place to support learning, well-being and engagement.  

I am thrilled that this is now a university-wide focus, aligning with Ohio State’s Education for Citizenship 2035 and broader efforts to strengthen student success in many ways.  

We are all certainly familiar with supporting student success, and I know a great many of you have expertise, thoughts and ideas for how to transform Ohio State’s residential experience. That’s why I need you to be involved. 

The first way you can contribute is to provide feedback. Please take a moment to fill out a brief survey to share your vision for the future of the residential experience, from residential, dining and recreation needs to academic success, community-building and engagement with the university. At the end of the survey, you will be invited to indicate your interest in attending a visioning session with the Center for the Study of Student Life to dream further. To take the survey, please visit: https://go.osu.edu/resfuture  

I mentioned this morning that we don’t have to do the work we do; we get to do this work. The Residential Experience Transformation initiative is going to be an amazing journey, and I’m Scarlet and Grateful to be on that journey with you!  

 

Melissa S. Shivers, PhD  
Senior Vice President for Student Life   
The Ohio State University