Let's Envision the Future!

The field of student affairs, and higher education in general, stands where it does today because of the dreams, the vision, the dedication and the will to act of those who came before us. Early in the 20th century The Student Personnel Point of View (which is “celebrating” its 75th anniversary in 2012) challenged those working in student services to consider the development of the whole student. Students’ growth and development was not just the domain of faculty, and “student personnel” staff were challenged to think about the ways in which they and the services they provided contributed to that development.

A little more than half a century later ACPA President Charles Schroeder led the conceptualization and publication of the Student Learning Imperative. That document challenged us again, this time to think about ourselves and our work as contributing not only to students’ development but as central to student learning.
Now, just under 20 years after the publication of the SLI, we’re looking to the future again. ACPA is looking to our members to join in identifying those dreams and visions that will propel us into the next decade. What does higher education require of us? What values should we be carrying forward? How do we frame this and tap into the will to act that will allow us to translate those dreams into our new reality?

Throughout the month of October ACPA is holding a series of visioning session “MeetUps” in order to tap into the creativity, knowledge and dedication of our members and friends. Some of these MeetUps are taking place face-to-face at a range of locations around the U.S. and North America. Some are taking place virtually, and some of those virtual MeetUps are timed to allow our colleagues outside the U.S. to participate. There’s still time to sign up by going to http://meetups.myacpa.org/howcanijoinanacpameetup.

Please join us in this opportunity to chart the course for student affairs. I look forward to hearing your dreams, visions and plans for the future!

Heidi

New Year

Happy new year! I hope the first days and weeks of the new academic year are going (or, for those yet to start, go) smoothly. I particularly hope that all of our colleagues on campuses in the eastern part of the U.S. sustained minimal damage and disruption.

I’m excited about all of the programs and initiatives we have for our members as we embark on a new year. Our Transfer Task Force is at work helping us to identify the most effective practices for engaging transfer students. The convention planning team is about to review the hundreds of convention program proposals that you are submitting. I can’t wait to hear the aspirations our members share through our “visioning session” MeetUps in October, as we move to lead and shape the profession in the coming decade.

I am also delighted to be introducing ACPA’s new, weekly e-community. I think this is going to be a great tool to keep ACPA members in the loop about association activities, professional development opportunities, and issues within the broader higher education world.

Let us know what you’d like to hear more about, so that we can make ACPA e-community the most vibrant and useful membership connection possible.

Heidi