Susan Dibbell Reflects on Nearly Four Decades at the Wisconsin Union
When Susan Dibbell thinks about her years at the Wisconsin Union, she thinks about the people: students who brought ambitious ideas to life, colleagues with whom she found connection, and guests she came to know from their frequent visits to Union spaces.
After nearly four decades on the Wisconsin Union team, including more than a decade as deputy director, Susan is preparing to retire. She has helped shape the places and experiences that bring people together at Wisconsin Union spaces and events.
It all started with a student job. During her first year studying at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Susan began working in the Wisconsin Union director’s office and human resources at Memorial Union. One day, then-Director Ted Crabb asked her to deliver something to the Union president on the fifth floor. There, she saw students creating programs through the Union’s programming board, the Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD).
“There was an entire new world up there,” Susan said. “I had to learn more.”
She did. Susan became involved in WUD and eventually made college unions her career. The opportunities she found as a student helped shape the work she would do for students who followed.
She has served as Union South program director, the first director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service and assistant director of program and leadership development before becoming the Wisconsin Union deputy director in 2016.
Learning by Leading
Susan earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and a master’s degree in educational administration from UW–Madison. Her career took her away from Wisconsin for four years, but she was drawn back to the place where she had discovered what students could accomplish when given the opportunity and trust to lead.
Students’ involvement helps us at the Union respond to what students want and need while giving them the chance to learn through hands-on student leadership.
For Susan, the success of these efforts includes what the students learned along the way. Former student leaders sometimes return and tell her they now understand the trust and influence they had as WUD leaders.
“In the moment, students may not fully understand the power and importance of this learning laboratory, but they eventually do,” she said.
Creating Community
During her tenure, Susan was a part of building a new Union South, and the renovation of the Memorial Union and the Memorial Union Terrace, including the first phase of the Tong Family Marina.
She is particularly proud of the Union team coming together during the COVID-19 pandemic to create community and provide safe services for the campus community. This included safely opening the beloved Union Terrace.
“The campus needed community,” Susan said.
There was no playbook, but Union staff worked together to find a way to open as safely as possible.
That need for connection is part of why Susan believes college unions matter.
“Often college unions are seen as ‘service providers,’” she said. “Yes, we provide valuable services, but we are more than that. We are partners in creating community on campus.”
That can mean a student-planned concert, a lecture by a thought leader, a wedding, a meal with friends or a quiet place to study. Susan loves watching students bring their families into our buildings, show them their favorite spots and share their own Union stories. She also values the connections that form among people who simply spend time in the same place, including guests she sees here day after day.
What Comes Next
When Susan became deputy director in 2016, she was thinking about what the Union might look like 10 or 20 years later. Today, she is proud that we continue to evolve while staying committed to social education and student leadership. Her hope for the future is simple: that we stay true to those purposes.
Susan is giving herself time to imagine her own future, too, as she prepares for retirement.
“I keep telling people that I’m not retiring, just moving on to the next chapter,” she said. “I’m excited about figuring out what is next.”
