Liz Artz, director of fraternity and sorority life
Hometown: Jackson, Mich.
College: B.A. in business administration from Siena Heights University in Adrian, Mich.; master’s in educational leadership/student affairs from Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant.
Before Union: I was a substitute teacher for while after graduating from Siena, and also worked at Consumers Energy as an administrative assistant. That whole time I missed higher ed., so I applied for graduate school. While I drove two hours each way to Central Michigan University for classes, I worked as a residence hall coordinator at Lawrence Tech. I was eventually asked to head up Greek life at Lawrence and became a student engagement coordinator, in charge of campus programming and Homecoming. But what I was most passionate about was Greek life. I loved working with those students. I really felt like I was a mom to a lot of different organizations, they wanted me at every event. I decided I wanted to focus only on Greek life, so I came to Union.
Responsibilities at Union: I hope to really make this position my own. An important part of that is getting to know students. I plan to meet with sorority and fraternity chapter presidents monthly so we can talk about their accomplishments, goals, needs and concerns. I’ll also be meeting regularly with each of the governing boards (Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council, Multicultural Greek Council) and working closely with College leadership as the liaison between the administration and Greek organizations.
Goals: I’m still very new to Union so I don’t have a detailed course of action yet. What works at universities I’ve attended and been employed at might not work here. I don’t want to enact a cookie-cutter plan. I want to soak it all in for a couple months and then start making plans. I want to get to know Union and its students, and do what’s best for them.
Favorite thing so far: I love how small Union is, it’s just so comfortable. It just seems like home and family, everyone is so kind. In fact, the first thing everyone says is, “Welcome to Union. Welcome to the Union family.” You don’t see that often at all. It’s great.
Hobbies/Interests: I like to take pictures, I like to scrapbook. I get addicted to T.V. shows; I am a huge, huge fan of “How I Met Your Mother.” I love hanging out with friends and family.
Final words: I have a very open-door policy, so anyone – alumni, students, faculty, staff – should feel free to send me an email or stop by my office.