University of Houston Executive Director of the Student Centers Rob Stagni poses for a portrait, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in Houston, Texas. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar
Robert Stagni, who hails from New Orleans, will serve as the new executive director of the Student Centers.
“When I was selected for this position, I did a little dance in my living room and just knew that there was some great opportunity here to impact more students,” Stagni said. “I’m humbled. I’m excited. I’m already in awe of the team we have here.”
Although Stagni’s roots are in Louisiana, he remembers visiting Houston often as a kid.
“Houston is just one off from home, even from early childhood,” Stagni said. “And then everything that comes along with living on the Gulf Coast: weather, hurricane season, seafood, all these things are intricate parts of my childhood and upbringing.”
His first encounter with Texas pride came as an undergraduate at Texas A&M, where he said he found a “whole new way of living”.
“A&M was very important for me, being a young adult and being on my own for the first time,” Stagni said. “College Station is a unique place, and that first-time freedom for someone who’s 18 years old and goes off to college, it’s a learning experience, and hopefully it’s a positive learning experience. For me, it was pretty darn good.”
Although he originally studied accounting, Stagni said it wasn’t until graduate school, while pursuing a master’s in higher education and student affairs at Indiana University, that he felt true clarity.
“Higher ed is one of those fields where people say they’re called to those things,” Stagni said. “My experience as an undergrad working in the student center at Texas A&M, knowing advisors, being involved in student organizations, that’s when I kind of found my calling there. Then eventually I realized, oh wait, this is a full-time adult job too.”
He later earned a Doctor of Education in higher education from the University of Arkansas and served as the director of the Arkansas Union, where he focused on renovating the facilities to support a growing student population.
“We didn’t build a whole new wing or anything like that, but we took a lot of the existing space and realized, you know what? This really doesn’t serve students anymore,” Stagni said. “How do we change this, update this, make it look a little brighter, a little nicer, but also serve a better function for people?”
One summer, he led an effort to completely overhaul the food court.
“We closed it after finals in May and it opened the first day of class in August. We were definitely setting up furniture the Sunday night before it opened, but it did get open, and that was really well received by the students.”
No matter the project, Stagni said his goal is the same: creating spaces that feel open, bright and welcoming for students.
“Third spaces are critical in building community, and if you have a community, then you are more likely to feel like you belong,” Stagni said. “This idea that we are all in this together. Even though we are 40-some-odd thousand students with unique goals, needs, wants and paths, there is this central thing, us all being here at the university, that brings us together.”
In his first two weeks in the new role, Stagni attended a conference with the Big 12 union directors and has been busy with the transition process.
“The team has thrown me right into the mix of things, which of course I appreciate,” he said. “I still don’t even know all the things that I need to learn or make enough lists of those, but everyone’s been so welcoming, happy to explain things to me.”
As executive director, Stagni will draw on his experience to provide leadership and strategic direction for Student Center North and Student Center South.
“Stagni has a proven record of accomplishment of building collaborative teams, managing complex facilities, and creating inclusive, student-focused environments,” said assistant vice president for Student Affairs and Student Life Keith Kowalka. “His passion for student engagement and community building aligns perfectly with our division’s mission and the vital role the Student Centers play in the daily life of our campus.”
Ultimately, Stagni said his passion for education comes down to working “in the now, for the future”.
“All these interactions that we’re having with the students, these experiences we’re providing, the resources that we’re connecting them with, yes, hopefully it impacts them now,” Stagni said. “But really, hopefully they are learning things for the future. It’s a mindset that requires you to put a lot of effort in with folks right now and just know that down the line, if you’ve done the job right, then we’re supposed to be creating a better world here.”
news@thedailycougar.com
