Familiar Face in a New Place; Burden Named Director of Citizenship and Conduct

 
Few people on campus are as familiar as Zac Burden. He has worked for Truman in some capacity for 25 years, from a hall desk associate and resident advisor during his time as a student, to full-time positions in Residence Life. A longtime director of Missouri Hall, he has been a member of the Residence Life leadership team for the past several years. Now, he’s taking on a new role as director of Citizenship and Conduct.
 
Formally, the Office of Citizenship and Conduct (OCC) is dedicated to creating and promoting a purposeful, inclusive, caring, responsible, just and celebrative community of learners at Truman. For most people, it is more commonly associated with administering the Student Conduct Code. While that remains to be true, Burden wants to shift the perception of the OCC to focus on the “citizenship” aspect.
 
“It’s my hope that students and all members of the campus community see my full role as one focused on building out the kind of communities we all want to be a part of at Truman,” he said. 
 
Burden predicts having a more visible role on campus for the OCC with events like Constitution Day and Citizenship Day in September. The concept of community building is nothing new to Burden, from his previous experience in Residence Life, to his current role as Mayor of Kirksville, a position he’s had for seven years. 
 
“For a couple years I’ve been looking for an opportunity to take my experience and skills into a new role to support Truman and take up a new adventure,” he said. “I had the opportunity to work closely with Citizenship and Conduct in the past. I feel, through this position, I have an opportunity to make a positive impact on our Truman community, and I am excited by that chance.”
 
Conduct will continue to be an integral component of the OCC. For his part, Burden plans to focus on conduct investigations and resolutions as opportunities to continue educating students.
 
“College is a time of great learning. This includes learning how to live well together in a community. It’s my belief that Citizenship and Conduct is focused on developing students through all experiences towards that goal,” he said. “We grow through reflecting on our mistakes, accountability, trying new experiences and pushing ourselves to expand our capacity for interaction with others. Now more than ever, we need to be able to engage with one another on a foundation of respect and mutual understanding.”
 
Burden urges any students, faculty and staff to reach out to the OCC if they are looking to partner in fostering civic engagement on campus. He can be reached by email at zburden@truman.edu, by phone at 660.785.4141 or by visiting the OCC in person in the Student Union Building 3100.