"You underestimate how much time scheduling things takes and following up and confirming — and the busier you get, the more your time is in demand. And in my role, I need to spend time with students. I need to spend time with faculty and staff. I need to spend time with our community partners. I need to spend time with our donors and alumni. All of that time that had previously gone, there's a return on that time now. I get to do those things."
— Stu Halsall, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Kennedy Mountain Campus, Wellness & Recreation
The Challenge
As Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of Denver, Stu Halsall carries a wide-ranging mandate: supporting roughly 12,000 students across undergraduate and graduate programs, facilitating the university's signature 4D experience, and remaining accessible to faculty, staff, donors, and community partners alike. With so many stakeholders competing for his attention, Stu found that administrative work was quietly eroding the time he had to show up for the people who mattered most.
Calendar coordination, inbox management, and logistics for campus guests were consuming hours that should have been spent on high-impact, relational work. Stu had tried patchwork solutions — student workers in part-time roles — but found the support inconsistent and the learning curve steep.
"Just calendar management in itself is a challenge. I needed someone who could help me with my inbox, who could coordinate guests to the campus, who could do any number of things that would really just extend my bandwidth of what I can do and how I can have an impact on our student experience at DU."
When Stu heard BELAY discussed on the Business Made Simple Podcast with Donald Miller, the idea of being matched with a virtual assistant who had the specific skill set he was looking for — rather than hiring a generic part-time helper — immediately resonated. The shift toward remote work following COVID had also normalized the concept of a high-performing virtual professional, and Stu was ready to take the leap.
The Solution
From the moment Stu was matched with his BELAY Virtual Assistant, Grace, the difference was clear. BELAY's personalized matching process prioritized relevant experience, pairing Stu with someone who had a background in higher education — a detail that proved invaluable from day one.
"What I love about what BELAY did is they matched us with somebody who is familiar with higher education first and foremost. There's a familiarity of industry that I think is so important. Whereas previously when we outsourced, that was very hit and miss — but if somebody's been familiar with higher education, that makes a huge difference because they get things like the language and how things are referenced."
With guidance from his Client Success Consultant, Stu approached Grace's onboarding thoughtfully, building standard operating protocols and getting creative with virtual tools — including a virtual campus tour so Grace could develop context for the university's buildings and culture. The process was so effective that Stu's team adopted many of the same online onboarding techniques for their broader part-time workforce.
Stu and Grace established a biweekly meeting cadence for consistent communication, with flexibility to connect ad hoc during high-priority situations. As their working relationship deepened, Grace took on a growing range of responsibilities — from research and presentation drafting to stepping up during crisis situations — and Stu grew increasingly confident delegating both routine and complex tasks to her.
"What I love about what BELAY did is they matched us with somebody who is familiar with higher education first and foremost. There's a familiarity of industry that I think is so important."
— Stu Halsall, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Kennedy Mountain Campus, Wellness & RecreationThe Impact
The results of partnering with BELAY were felt almost immediately. After roughly a two-week onboarding period, Grace was operating at full capacity — and Stu's ability to focus on his highest-value work transformed as a result.
"The benefits and returns we saw were pretty immediate. I think really we probably had about a two-week onboarding process, and then after that, we were going."
Perhaps the most meaningful outcome isn't measured in hours saved, but in how Stu now spends that reclaimed time. Where administrative tasks once crowded out relational work, he now consistently meets his weekly key objectives — goals that, by their nature, require face-to-face time with students, faculty, staff, donors, and community partners.
"I have key objectives each week that I really think about what I want to get done and how I can get there. I could tell you that prior to Grace, I was very hit-and-miss. There are not many weeks now where I don't meet my key objectives because at the end of the day, they require relational time, and not having to spend as much of that time on the computer or administration makes a huge difference."
As Grace has grown more familiar with the University of Denver and Stu's working style, her capacity has expanded — and so has his confidence in delegating. What began as a set of core administrative tasks has evolved into a true professional partnership, allowing a 25-year veteran of the university to finally show up fully for the community he serves.