Two administrators at Eastern Illinois University are retiring on Jan. 31: Executive Director of University Housing and Dining Services Mark Hudson and Dean of Students Jody Stone.
Hudson’s position as executive director of University Housing and Dining Services has consisted of handling students’ on-campus food and residential needs.
“If you sleep on it or eat it, I handle it,” Hudson said.
As the dean of students, Stone’s work has consisted of overseeing student conduct, handling fraternity and sorority needs and organizing events for student organizations.
Hudson has held his position for 25 years, and Stone has held his position for three years, but he has worked at Eastern for a total of 31.
Hudson and Stone both attended Eastern as students. Hudson said his time as a student at Eastern ultimately helped form the connection to campus he has today.
“I had a lot of strong ties to the university, including mentors and people from Eastern that worked with me. It was an incredible opportunity to come back to a university that helped shape me,” Hudson said.
Both Hudson and Stone value teamwork and togetherness.
“Being involved in this position at Eastern Illinois University made me feel a part of a team, which ultimately felt very rewarding,” Stone said.
Stone said Hudson was a prominent figure by his side when working at the university and is someone he admires.
“Mark has stayed in touch with students trying to get their input. He attends weekly Residence Hall Association meetings to get insight to share it with admins, [and he’s] very punctual as well,” Stone said. “An example is when students were upset about Wi-Fi, he’d reach out to see what he could do immediately and consistently.”
Both Hudson and Stone were hired by former EIU President Lou Hencken.
When hiring them, there were attributes that Hencken looked for in potential candidates, and the duo happened to meet these expectations well, he said.
“Some qualities I look for, given that we work in student services, is that they care about students and are willing to go the extra mile for them, get them from moving into residence halls freshman year to the graduation stage senior year, commitment and dedicated to the university,” Hencken said. “Both Jody and Mark fit all of the criteria.”
Separate events were held on Friday in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Grand Ballroom to celebrate Stone and Hudson’s departure from their occupations.
These events consisted of students and faculty collectively joining each other to acknowledge the contributions from both individuals to the university.
“When I looked down at all the people who attended, I saw those people who I was fortunate enough to be a part of their journey,” Hudson said. “I’m so grateful to have created those bonds. We try to serve as an incubator and make staff and students alike feel less invisible, because we see you.”
Stone said it was cool to see students show up to celebrate him.
“I’m here to help students, and since I began my journey here as a student myself, it really touched my heart,” he said. “To even have seen former staff and supervisors come from different places around the world filled me with joy and makes me grateful that I developed those strong relationships from every stage in my life here at the university.”
Hudson and Stone both plan to travel after their final day on campus, with Hudson going to Florida and Stone going to California.
Tyrone Naylor can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].
Dining and Cooking