AVP Initiatives and Steering Committee

The NASPA AVP Steering Committee is excited to offer an opportunity to bring together members of the AVP community to help foster and strengthen our peer network.

The Cohorts:

1. Bring together and foster supportive connections between AVPs within the NASPA community.
2. Create sustainable and ongoing virtual communities that meet at least twice a semester to discuss current trends and topics that are directly impacting the ways in which AVPs do their work and serve students.

There has been a regular call for AVPs to be able to network and find supportive spaces where they can learn from peers and find ways to help navigate the increasingly volatile issues that crop up on college campuses. Our hope is that Cohort Connections will meet this need by offering small group virtual communities that will discuss current trends and issues and topics impacting the work. When possible, cohorts will be arranged geographically, by institution size, and/or by other identities. Each cohort will consist of a Cohort Facilitator who will be responsible for organizing the cohort and helping to ensure its success.

Facilitated topics could include:

• Free speech/open expression/media
• Assessment (e.g., culture of, doing it well, making the time)
• Student conduct/crisis management
• Navigating mental health through the lens of university policies and protocols
• Defining your role/balancing
• Supervising up, down, and across
• Working with HR
• Working and operating with labor relations/collective bargaining
• Collaborating with academic affairs
• Navigating politics
• New laws and policies
• Mental health of students/staff

...And much more.

JOIN A COHORT: A new cohort will be launched in February 2025 after the AVP Symposium. Those who are interested in joining a cohort and/or becoming a Cohort Facilitator will be able to sign up at that time. 

The AVP and VP Dialogue Series provides additional opportunities to AVPs (and the equivalent) and VPs for professional discourse on topics that impact our institutions, our students, and the profession. Each topic-specific dialogue is facilitated by one or more of your AVP peers who kicks off the discussion and provides enough structure for attendees to get the most out of the opportunity to engage virtually in a community of similarly professionally situated colleagues.

Join us for the upcoming dialogues during the 2025 NASPA National Conference:

AVP Dialogues: What Makes Your Employees Tick?

Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 10:00am - 10:50am

Hilton Riverside Grand Ballroom C

AVP Dialogues: Take a Break and Celebrate - Investing in a Culture of Appreciation

Tuesday, March 18th, 2025, 3:15pm - 4:05pm

Hilton Riverside Grand Ballroom C

Each year during the NASPA Annual Conference, the AVP Steering Committee coordinates several inititives designed to enrich the conference experience for AVPs (and the equivalent) and student affairs professionals who aspire to the AVP role. They include

• Pre-conference workshop for sitting AVPs
• Pre-conference workshop for aspiring AVPs
• Series of topic-specific "AVP Dialogues"
• NASPA AVP initiatives update and caucus
• AVP mixer and reunions for past attendees of the NASPA AVP Institute, NASPA Institute for New AVPs, and NASPA AVP Symposium

Expect more specific information about these AVP-oriented offerings as the 2025 NASPA Annual Conference approaches.

Coming Soon: New AVP Toolkit

The AVP Steering Committee has been instrumental in the conceptualization and ongoing evolution of the NASPA Institute for New AVPs. The Institute is a foundational two-day learning and networking experience designed to support and develop AVPs in their unique and challenging roles on campus. The Institute is appropriate for AVPs and other senior-level "number twos" who report to the highest-ranking student affairs officer and who have been serving in their first AVP/"number two" position for not longer than two years. Please consider joining us in January 2025 in Columbus, Ohio.

The NASPA AVP Symposium is a unique and innovative three-day program designed to support and develop AVPs and other "number twos" in their unique campus leadership roles. Leveraging the vast expertise and knowledge of sitting AVPs, the Symposium will provide high-level content through a variety of participant engagement-oriented session types.

This professional development offering is limited to AVPs and other "number twos" who report to the highest-ranking student affairs officer on campus and have substantial responsibility for divisional functions. Additionally, vice presidents for student affairs (and the equivalent) who are presenting during the symposium may also register at a discounted rate and attend.

We look forward to seeing you in Columbus, Ohio on January 25-27, 2025. For more information and to register for the Symposium, please visit the registration webpage.