Episode 13: Laurie Braden at LSU

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, gives you the listener real and authentic conversation between himself and special guest Laurie Braden, the executive director of University Recreation a Louisiana State University (LSU).

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With 30-plus years under her belt in the industry, Braden has found herself learning along the way. Whether it’s the challenge that was the COVID-19 pandemic, to the things she wouldn’t do differently, Braden gets vulnerable in sharing her takeaways.

Plus, she goes into detail about the program Research in the Rec and how the “every campus is a park” mentality is changing the way UREC does things. All in all, the department is driven by service and the word “play” which Braden talks about in-depth.

As you listen to the following conversation, get involved yourself. Ask what you can take away from it to apply to your leadership, department and more today.

Show Notes from the Conversation with Laurie Braden

The thing Braden didn’t know about campus rec at 2:21.
How her story finding campus rec is like Goldilocks and her three chairs at 4:25.
At 6:42, Braden shares about the influence Stan Shingles had on Braden while she was at Central Michigan University.
This was pivotal in Braden’s development. Find out at 8:26.
Braden shares at 10:18 about her time at LSU.
The special shirt Braden wears when the Gators from the University of Florida come into town at 13:01.
What is Research in the Rec? Listen at 13:54.
Braden shares at on why the word “play” has come to mean so much more at LSU.
She explains how every campus is a park at 18:02.
How getting outside of the four walls of the rec center reduces the gap of engagement at LSU.
An attitude of service is how Braden leads at LSU. Listen at 26:27.
The new thing they are adding this year at 28:01. Hint: It’s taking place outside.
What has been the biggest challenge in being a director for Braden? She shares at 30:52.
Insight into the UREC team at 32:43 and what Braden loves about them.
One thing Braden wouldn’t do differently and one thing she would at 38:22.
Braden gets vulnerable at 39:34 in what she has learned through the years, and challenges listeners to ask themselves a very important question.