Dr. Keith Ellis
Executive Director for Campus Housing, University of Illinois Chicago
On many college campuses the work of hazing prevention and education has been isolated to one office or one individual who is trying to serve an entire community. This historical approach to hazing prevention often leads to limited results and isolated efforts to address a complex problem.
In this webinar, we will identify strategies for expanding stakeholder involvement and provide examples of places and spaces in your communities where you can build connection around the topic of hazing prevention. We will also explore coalition-building research and its application to hazing prevention and education.
Learning Objectives
- Identify potential campus and community stakeholders to engage in hazing prevention.
- Identify strategies to increase buy-in on the topic of hazing prevention and education.
- Explore coalition-building research and its application to hazing prevention and education.
Presenters
Dr. Keith Ellis currently serves as the Executive Director of Campus Housing at the University of Illinois Chicago. In this role, Keith oversees the operations for a 3500+ bed campus housing organization employing 100+ full and part-time professionals and 100+ student employees. Keith also serves as a Curricular Fellow for the Division of Student Affairs at UIC, where he leads divisional efforts to transition to a curricular approach for student affairs.
Prior to this role, Keith served 3 years (2020-2023) as the Assistant Dean of Students for Community Standards at UIC, overseeing the Student Disciplinary Process, and serving on the Student Threat Assessment Team and Student Care Team. Keith spent 7 years (2013-2020) as the Director of Residence Life at the University of South Carolina, integrating the work of student leadership, student conduct, residential education, behavior intervention, crisis management, prevention education, Title IX, and professional staff development. Keith spent 3 years (2008-2011) working at the University of Kentucky as Assistant Dean of Students and 1 year (2011-2012) at the University of South Carolina as Associate Director working in Fraternity and Sorority Life, where he worked directly with the fraternity and sorority community to create change and advance the fraternal movement and he was responsible for the on-going risk reduction education of fraternities and sororities, challenging the communities to uphold their fraternal values during periods of crisis that received national attention. In 2010, Keith assumed responsibility for the Students of Concern and Behavior Intervention Team at the University of Kentucky, advancing the work of student safety across many platforms, including Mental Health, Physical Safety, and Student Conduct, and spent 3 years (2005-2008) as the Assistant Director of Student Involvement at the University of Kentucky working with the Student Activities Board and Student Leadership Programs.
Keith has served as a consultant and speaker as a member of the NovakTalks! group since 2012 and has been a faculty member for the Interdisciplinary Institute for Hazing Prevention since 2010.
Keith completed his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky in 2018 with research focus on the examination of hazing case law as applied between 1980-2013. Keith has a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Memphis.
Keith is the father of three beautiful daughters, Amelia (age 9), Annabeth (age 3), and Charlotte (age 0) husband to an amazing wife Nichole, and spends his free time volunteering as a youth softball coach and leader in his local F3 Parks and Wreck community.
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