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April 2012

In This Issue:

Updates from the Chair   Welcome to the latest issue of Synergy, the newsletter for the SAPAA Knowledge Community! As your KC Chair, I was inspired to see so many engaged and excited colleagues and friends from across the country at this year’s annual conference in Phoenix. I believe that this level of engagement has always marked our KC, and so it was no surprise to me that SAPAA is still the second largest community of interest, as identified by NASPA members.  Full Story... Next In Our Series... Partnerships in Enrollment Management Preparing Culturally Competent Students for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Faculty developing and teaching service-learning courses or seeking to integrate community engagement into the curriculum face a common problem: How do we create an experience that challenges students to confront the structural and systemic inequalities underpinning the need for service? Without a previously developed understanding of their own identities, and an appreciation of cultural, socio-economic and individual differences, students will struggle to achieve learning outcomes of civic and community-engagement.  Full Story... Veterans Services in Higher Ed Overcoming Barriers to Academic Success Student veterans face significant challenges readjusting to civilian life and integrating into an academic environment. The number of military veterans attending colleges and universities has increased and is expected to continue to grow (DiGiacomo, R., 2011). Improved programs providing support and services are needed to assist student veterans if the Post 9/11 GI Bill investment is to provide military veterans an alternative to unemployment and homelessness and benefit society at large.   Full Story... Updates from Regional Chairs Congratulations to our Promising Practices Award Recipients! Full details below...

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Updates from the Chair:  Shannon Gary

Welcome to the latest issue of Synergy, the newsletter for the SAPAA Knowledge Community!

As your KC Chair, I was inspired to see so many engaged and excited colleagues and friends from across the country at this year’s annual conference in Phoenix. I believe that this level of engagement has always marked our KC, and so it was no surprise to me that SAPAA is still the second largest community of interest, as identified by NASPA members.

I am looking forward to this year with SAPAA – we have a lot of momentum building off of our success last year. This is sure to be another year marked by great success and accomplishment all as a result of the hard work of our SAPAA leadership team and members. This year, I will be working with our new Vice Chair, Dan Stypa. Dan and I are excited to lead SAPAA, support our members and the work of each committee and working group, and continue to make SAPAA one of the most valuable professional experiences for our members.

In SAPAA this year, we have a lot to recognize. The Promising Practices Award, a SAPAA tradition, honors the accomplishments of our NASPA institutions which transform the student experience. Our winners this year - the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and The Michigan College and University Partnership program, and our honorable mention from Cedar Crest College’s Leadership Scholar Program - are all admirable examples of the strength of academic affairs and student affairs partnerships.

In addition to this award, as a result of the hard work from our Research & Scholarship committee, we were able to award a research grant, once again provided by the generous support from Stylus Publishing. The recipients,Dr. Robert Reason (Iowa State University) and Mr. Ezekiel Kimball (Pennsylvania State University), were awarded for their research related to student learning and development. It is work like this that gives us the inspiration and information necessary to advocate and foster meaningful relationships between academic and student affairs.

Having attended a whirlwind of events during the national conference, I must commend so many SAPAA members on the thought-provoking ideas presented in workshops and sessions. I owe particular thanks to Marguerite Bonous-Hammarth and Leanna Fenneberg who were recipients of SAPAA’s 2012 Distinguished Service Award. Also, thanks to Dan and our colleagues in the Student Leadership Programs KC and the Sustainability KC for their hard work to coordinate an exciting and well-attended joint social at the Arizona Center during our national conference.

Dan and I look forward to a strong showing of members submitting proposals for the 2013 annual conference in Orlando, as well as volunteers for other programs and activities throughout the year. This year, SAPAA is proud to be the co-sponsor of the NASPA Assessment and Persistence Conference that will be held in Tampa, Florida from June 7-9, 2012. This is our first year partnering on this conference and we owe a great deal of thanks to our 10 SAPAA volunteers who have volunteered to be on the planning and review committee.

In the coming year, Dan and I look forward to moving SAPAA’s legacy of engagement forward. We hope this will translate into greater inclusion of diversity in NASPA members and leadership, more collaborative programs with our KC colleagues, enhanced professional development opportunities for all, increased integration of our graduate students in the KC, and focused activities to promote student development and leadership across our campuses.

We look forward to all that we will accomplish together, and to your use of Synergy, along with all of the other tools which can transform our work and professional lives.

Best wishes,

Shannon Gary
National Chair

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Promising Practices

Winners

The University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is home to the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) Dean's Scholar Program. This unique four-year leadership program within the CBS is designed to help biological science students build their leadership skills and prepare students to be active citizens in their chose professions and communities after graduation. The program focuses on self-awareness, citizenship, and creating change. This program was the first leadership program at the University of Minnesota that was housed in an academic unit rather than being housed in central student affairs. Each year, the first year retention rates for the students in this program have exceeded both general CBS and university retention rates. Each year, there are 50-75 students invited to participate in the program.

The Michigan College and University Partnership Program (MICUP) is a collaborative effort between three Michigan community colleges (Delta College, Grand Rapids Community College, and Wayne County Community College) and Michigan Technological University. MICUP's goal is to significantly increase the transfer of underrepresented ethnic minority, first generation, and economically disadvantaged students from community colleges to four year universities and colleges. Trends show that a high percentage of students of color and first generation students enter community college but fail to succeed in achieving a baccalaureate degree. MICUP's program is designed to provide community college students with an intensive hands-on research experience working with faculty and staff.

Honorable Mention

Cedar Crest College's Leadership Scholar Program was created in the summer of 2011 when the Office of Women's Leadership was approached to create a program to ensure that academic scholarship recipients would graduate with an experience focused on women's leadership. Each semester, students who receive the academic scholarship will work with an advisor/mentor to design three individualized learning activities to help them develop their knowledge in a variety of leadership competency areas.

Dan Stypa
Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs
Rice University

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