As a new leader, Ariel Arnold shares a strategic vision for the Neighborhood Student Success Center (NSSC) of fostering student success and closing opportunity gaps for historically marginalized student communities by being student facing and data informed.
The NSSC was created with a commitment to support all undergraduate students, focusing on academic achievement, institutional navigation, and assuring students feel a sense of community.
Arnold began as the senior Engagement Center director on April 1, reporting to Dr. Genyne L. Royal, assistant vice president of Student Life and Engagement for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging and assistant dean for Student Success Initiatives. This newly created position will lead NSSC efforts to support student success in the on- and off-campus community and will include working with campus partners and student leaders to develop a holistic campus that focuses on student academic needs, sense of belonging, and health and wellness from an intersectional lens.
“I'm just excited to step into this role, collaborate with various campus partners, and lead my team and the work of the NSSC forward to close opportunity gaps for marginalized and minoritized student populations to reach student success outcomes like graduation completion, retention and persistence of our students,” Arnold said.
The Neighborhood Student Success Center includes five engagement centers located in MSU’s five student neighborhoods. Each engagement center expands the capacity of MSU’s academic colleges and units and serves as access points for students to resources critical to student success, including academic advisors, tutors, health practitioners and additional tools.
The engagement centers also include specific focus areas that the center directors oversee, like academic support within the Neighborhoods, identity consciousness initiatives and programs, and first- and second-year student retention efforts. They also include partnerships with MSU Student Life and Engagement through offices such as MSU Student Parent Resource Center, Office of Cultural & Academic Transitions, the Career Services Network, MOSAIC: The Multicultural Unity Center, Recreational Sports and Fitness Services, University Health and Wellness, Counseling & Psychiatric Services CAPS and Clinics, and more.
The engagement centers Arnold will oversee will collect student experience data critical to shaping policies and practices at MSU. Arnold and her team are reviewing data collected from the previous academic year to determine what additional opportunities exist for student engagement and how the NSSC can be more strategic in their work.
While the engagement centers are physical locations, there are programs and initiatives that operate within the NSSC that support student success, including academic success skills presentations, peer educator academic support, Halfway There: Finish Strong, Final Frenzy, Build Career Skills: Lunch and Learn, Soul Food Friday, Fiesta Fridays, and more.
Even though the spring semester is over, the latest class of Spartans have graduated, and the fall semester remains several months away, Arnold is already preparing herself and her team to be ready once the majority of new and returning students come back to campus to start the fall semester. Arnold wants her team to be prepared to support students through what continues to be a controversial and divisive time.
“My goal is to lead and develop my team to be prepared to have student success conversations with colleagues while supporting students as these issues come up that we know impact student success here on campus,” she said.
Learn more about the neighborhoods on the Live On website.
