UF Inter-Residence Hall Association wins regional, national awards

February 14, 2006

The Inter-Residence Hall Association (IRHA) at the University of Florida has a lot more to be recognized for than just a few programs on campus. After winning the Student Award for Leadership Training (S.A.L.T.) regionally on Nov. 5, IRHA once again proved to be the best candidate, winning the national award on Jan. 18 as well.

UF is the fourth South Atlantic Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls (SAACURH) school in five years to win the S.A.L.T. award nationally. The award will be presented at the National Association of College and University Residence Halls conference in June to E.J. Walicki, IRHA President.

S.A.L.T., Student Award for Leadership Training, rewards student leadership training programs in residence halls. “Every fall semester, the IRHA Executive Board holds a week-long conference called Fall Leadership, which allows its new members to spend time learning about the organization, learning about their positions and learning valuable leadership skills from all school members,” said Walicki.

Being national winners, Walicki, along with IRHA Auditor Tiffany Griffith and IRHA Secretary Jackie Schuld will present the program at the American College Personnel Association to Student Affairs professionals around the country.

“This really shows that our training program for our student leaders is one of the best in the nation and it is our hope that other schools can take parts of our conference back to their school to help with their training programs,” said Walicki. “The Executive Board has really put a lot of effort into the organization since being elected last March and it is paying off.”

For more information about IRHA, visit the Web site at grove.ufl.edu/~irha/. For more information about the S.A.L.T. award visit the NACURH Web site at www.nacurh.org/.