After serving in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies for 12 years, Anne Van Arsdall is looking forward to her new adventure as director of summer session initiatives for CSU.

Armed with a master’s degree in college student development and administration from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Van Arsdall has always had a knack for what helps college students be successful and optimize their college experience. She came to CSU in 2000 and worked in the Career Center as a career counselor. She transitioned to the Department of Human Development and Family Studies in 2005, where she began as an adjunct instructor and part-time academic advisor, moved forward into a coordinator role and then became the director of undergraduate advising.

In 2016 Van Arsdall was the recipient of CSU’s Jack E. Cermak Advising Award and the College of Health and Human Sciences Outstanding Adviser Award. She has served on university-wide committees focused on the enhancement of academic advising and student success initiatives. She sees this new career step as a way to be part of program development and provide her service to the university at large.

“My goal is to promote the already vibrant course offerings and programs for the summer,” said Van Arsdall, “but also develop new programs and take advantage of the amazing resources for our students.”

Van Arsdall said she would like to implement bridge programs to help incoming students adjust to CSU and preparatory courses to help students be successful, as well as increase experiential learning and high-impact program offerings. Summer courses bring major benefits to students, including staying on track for graduation, establishing a balance throughout the academic school year, raising their GPAs and building stronger connections with CSU faculty and students.

Students can learn more about summer sessions, including course and program options, housing availability, financial aid and more at summer.colostate.edu.

“I would like for people to see me as a person that they might reach out to,” said Van Arsdall. “From all departments on campus I would love to hear ideas for summer courses and programs and then collaborate to offer those options for our students.”

Van Arsdall hopes that with this new position she can develop programs that will have a greater and further reaching impact on the CSU community.