Welcome to the Director Download, powered by Campus Rec Magazine.
It’s time to go behind the curtain of the director role and have honest discussions with leaders in the campus recreation industry.
In this episode, host Grady Sheffield, the director of campus recreation at Towson University and the senior advisor to the Campus Rec Mastermind Groups, holds a conversation with special guest, Ryan Hagen, associate athletic director at Yale University.
Prior to Yale, Hagen was at the University of New Haven — and a part of CENTERS — for eight years. As such, he shares what it’s like to work for CENTERS and the business acumen he gained from it. Now, he finds himself at the unique beast that is Yale, sharing what that looks like. Listen to the conversation to also find out what keeps Hagen up at night and how to develop a culture where employees stay.
Show Notes from the Conversation with Ryan Hagen
- The epiphany and conversation that sent Hagen into the profession of campus rec.
- It was a movie moment that describes the meeting of Hagen and Sheffield.
- His move to join CENTERS and why he took a “huge risk.”
- The big change that happened in the summer of 2021.
- Why “go somewhere different” is what Hagen tells every grad student.
- What it’s like to work for CENTERS and its wonderful people.
- His time there gave him great business acumen in the campus recreation world.
- The unique beast that is Yale, as Hagen shares around minute 9.
- Tailoring the “why” to who you’re presenting to so they can understand. And why Sheffield’s staff hate the “why” question.
- Working in athletics and what that looks like.
- Why you need to be hungry to learn and get the soft skills.
- Where does Hagen see campus recreation going as a profession?
- What is keeping him up at night as a director?
- The unique employee — professional and student — model at Yale.
- Developing a culture where employees stay at Yale boils down to two things — and they aren’t what you expect.
