Mindy Stroh named new SAO director

After six years at BU, Mindy Stroh is ready to take on the leadership of the Student Activities Office, implement new programs and policies, and continue building SAO’s relationship with the student body. But she’s reluctant to give up the perk that drew her to BU in the first place — the on-campus apartment that many SAO program coordinators get as part of the job.

“I took the position at BU because I liked the connection to Residence Life and the fact that it was a live-in position,” she says. “And I’ve loved living on campus — I was in Myles for five years, and now I’m in South Campus.”

As the new director of the Student Activities Office, however, Stroh will be giving up her dorm home this semester. Formerly a senior program coordinator in the office, Stroh was selected because of her experience at BU and the connection she’s developed with the student community.

“She obviously has been listening and interacting with students, as opposed to just setting up events,” says Caroline Cahill (CAS’07), the treasurer of the Student Union and a member of the SAO selection committee. “Mindy is able to go right into action to improve student life on campus, rather than going through the learning process.”

A graduate of Ohio University, Stroh started thinking about a career in higher education as an undergraduate, but didn’t begin pursuing campus jobs until she spent her first year out of college working at a bank. “I realized sitting in a cubicle working on other people’s 401k plans wasn’t for me,” she says.

She was the assistant director of student activities at Ohio for two years before becoming a program coordinator at BU, and much of her work here has been with the SAO student assistants and coordinating events with student performance groups. “Having been in the office for six and a half years, there have been a lot of things I’ve wanted us to do,” she says. “This is the perfect opportunity for me to make my mark.”

One of Stroh’s priorities is making better use of SAO’s new quarters at the Sargent Activities Center on University Road. Students currently use it as rehearsal space, but Stroh wants them to know that student groups can hold meetings there or use the computers and copiers to create promotional material for their events. “It’s a unique space,” she says, “and I just want to see it come to life.”

As always, SAO’s primary focus is working to develop new events that will attract students. This semester’s big draws include a performance by American Idol contestant Ayla Brown on Friday, September 22, and an Art of Kissing workshop on Saturday, September 23. (SAO is still seeking couples to volunteer for the latter.)

Stroh says she has always been impressed by the quality and quantity of programs that students put together, and as SAO director, she intends to provide the support they need to continue the process. “It’s about giving students the best experience they can have while they’re here,” she says. “We’re complementing what they’re learning in the classroom and experiencing in the city, and making them feel connected.”