Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution

Student Life & Engagement

Damen Student Center, Suite 300
773-508-8890, Email: osccr@luc.edu
LUC.edu/OSCCR

Dear Committee,

I joined Loyola University Chicago in September 2010. One of the most compelling aspects of my role was the
opportunity to supervise a graduate student in the HESA program. I had recently graduated from my own
program and I anxious to support a future colleague through their experience and development in the
profession. Preparing for the 2013 2014 academic year, Ali applied for our graduate position. The office
ultimately selected another candidate. We ended up with an unexpected vacancy and re-opened our selection
process during the summer of 2013. Having the chance to see Alison Reimels resume again, to meet her, and to
work with her has been one of the most gratifying and life-giving experiences in my higher education career
thus far. I have no idea how I missed her in the first round, but I am so grateful and lucky to have had a second
chance to get it right. Ali has been a gift to me and to the OSCCR. Ali has been a stellar team member! She has
been a tremendous value to our staff. Every office can use an extra resource to get the work done, but Ali has
left a legacy and has changed our office for the better.
Ali is the primary advisor to the Student Community Board (SCB). The SCB is a group of undergraduate
students who address incidents of alleged misconduct within the Loyola community on a peer to peer level. The
SCB supports and cares for the Loyola community by demonstrating balance between peer accountability,
education, and advocacy. Before the Fall 2013 semester, Ali jumped right in and provided worthy contributions
to the SCB training retreat. She had only been in her position for a few weeks and was not familiar with Loyola
or SCB, yet she relied on her strengths and was able to advance the teaching and team-building efforts. I do not
underestimate the level of pressure and dissonance that SCB members experience as they sit among their peers
to question their alleged misconduct, hold them accountable for their decisions, and make the difficult decisions
that may significantly impact a fellow students experience at Loyola. Moreover, Ali has the obligation to train
and prepare those student leaders to do that job well while also helping SCB members to process their own
learning and development as a college student. Ali has been able to effectively coach and support students
through managing their own personal crisis, conflicts, career development, leadership development, and
identity. In my five years at Loyola, the 2014 2015 SCB has been the most high-performing, cohesive, and
creative board. I attribute Alis example and leadership to their success. An example of Alis high-quality
contribution to the department is the new SCB curriculum. Ali has developed a curriculum for leadership and
professional development within the Social Change Model of Leadership. The purpose of the curriculum is to
provide a developmental experience for SCB members that focuses on cultivating and refining personal values,
navigating group dynamics, and fostering community engagement in order to create a positive impact on the
Loyola community and beyond. By this initiative, Ali has not only strengthened the conduct process by
bolstering the SCB experience; she has set a spring board for the next graduate assistant to excel with strong
tools and resources.

Ali has executed community-wide initiatives to support The Student Promise. I'm so proud of her efforts in
promoting The Student Promise as she was very intentional about understanding the intersection of The Student
Promise and our Jesuit values. Ali raised the quality and effectiveness of the programming by coordinating and
advising a group of student leaders to plan and deliver the programming. I had not seen a campaign for The
Student Promise to have such a high impact, strong visibility, run so smoothly. While it seems an obvious
approach, Ali was the first to garner student engagement to design and execute programming for The Student
Promise. In her first year Ali was a new community member learning the character, values, and philosophy of
Loyola while adjusting to a graduate program, yet she was able to pull together various student communities to
build an ambassadorship for The Student Promise. In the second year, Ali helped students to create their own
movement of personal accountability to support The Student Promise. That movement became the Because I
said I would campaign. A campaign for students to claim and share their unique commitments to better
their lives and the lives of others around them through promises made and kept. It was truly a powerful
movement that was developed for students and by students, with Alis guidance.
The University seemed to have its fair share of crisis, critical incidents, and demands in the 2014-2015
academic year. The OSCCR was still adjusting to sweeping transition and was critically under-resourced as our
band-width was significantly out-stretched to manage the tremendous work-load. As the number of critical
incidents had increased, Ali was a saving grace in keeping the OSCCR moving forward. With full confidence
and without a second-thought, Ali has been assigned several high-profile and critical incidents to investigate or
adjudicate. Alis professionalism, reliability, and integrity allowed her to be the only Masters level graduate
student investigating and adjudicating Gender-Bias Misconduct/Title IX incidents. Ali performs in a manner
that demonstrates MAGIS. Her hearing outcomes are considered with intentionality to support a students
success, retention, and personal excellence. Ive come to see how deeply Ali examines herself, her motives, and
approach to be intentional with students and to offer her best. Its evident in her focus on leadership
development, cultural competence, and accountability.
Personally, Ali truly brightens the office. Her light-hearted, supportive, and can-do attitude makes all the
difference in an environment that consistently responds to some level of crisis and trauma. She has been a pure
joy to work with and to support. For all she does and able to manage at once without complaint or issue, Ali
cannot be awarded enough. Her humility is a breath of fresh air. Ali has been a great teammate to campus
partners for delivering professional development, conducting investigations, and facilitating hearings. Ive been
completely impressed and inspired by her example. Truthfully, I do not have any critical feedback about
significant areas of improvement, developmental gaps, or concerns about Alis performance or skills. No one is
perfect and we can all stand to advance in areas of our work, yet Alison Reimel is by far one of the best
professionals Ive worked with in the past 13 years.

Dana Broadnax
Director
Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution
Student Life & Engagement
Damen Student Center, Suite 300
773-508-8890 | dbroadnax@luc.edu
www.luc.ed/osccr