In this article, the author discusses two projects that challenged the stereotypical notions that have long been embraced by student affairs professionals. The first was a campuswide initiative to collect and disseminate data dealing with student health status and related behaviors and the implications for student retention. The second was a major initiative launched by a university chancellor when she established a universitywide commission to focus on "the student experience." These initiatives demonstrated that the traditional tension between the academic and student affairs sectors of the university are mostly about differing expectations and rewards, that faculty expectations and rewards are inextricably linked to promotion and tenure, that the reward structures for faculty and student affairs staff are very different, and that the shared need for data provided the catalyst for collaboration between student affairs professionals and their faculty colleagues.