Author Archives: Directorate

New England at ACPA17: Accepted Program by Kathleen Gillon

Posted on by
Reply

Preferred Name: Kathleen E. Gillon, Ph.D.

Employer: University of Maine

Position: Visiting Assistant Professor, Higher Education

Title of your Program: Identifying and Challenging Urbanormativity in Student Affairs Practice

Description:
As student affairs educators engage in discussions regarding social identities, especially as they
relate to power, privilege, and oppression, less attention is often given to the role of sociogeographic identity and the ways in which space and place inform social systems and identities, especially as they relate to post-secondary educational opportunity and participation.

More so, when space is actually considered, it is often within an urban context (Khattri, Riley, & Kane, 1997), subsequently silencing the lives and experiences of rural people and places. Recent scholarship has helped to not only explain this focus on the urban experience but also to provide language to discuss the ways in which people and places with urban identities are privileged within our society while those with rural identities are often marginalized, othered, and deemed deficient.

Although rural students continue to participate in higher education at rates lower than their (sub)urban counterparts as well as below the national average, urbanormativity – the focus/privileging of urban, people, and places – has caused this population of students and their
unique experiences/needs to go largely ignored. The purpose of this program session is to engage practitioners-scholars in a critical dialogue regarding the role that space and place play in shaping identities, specifically for rural college students. Together, we will discuss ways in which our educational practices may contribute to urbanormativity and how we can work to challenge these practices at both an institutional and individual level.

What you look forward to most for ACPA17: Connecting with colleagues from across the country

Directorate Board Friday: Jessi Robinson

Posted on by
Reply

Jessi Robinson, Operations Coordinator

Current Title and Institution: Graduation Coordinator at UMass Boston

What do you do as the Graduation Coordinator?
​My primary role is managing the Graduation Team, who reviews student academic and administrative records for degree conferral. In order to do this accurately, I and my team manage student record accuracy, working with Departments, Admissions, and students themselves to ensure audits and transcripts are complete and updated. I also review requests from matriculated students to take courses at other institutions, collaborate with the Office of Communications to disseminate information through social media, and serve as the point-of-contact for system upgrades which will affect the Graduation Team.

What do you love about working at your current institution?
As the only public research university in Boston, ​UMass Boston has an incredibly diverse population of students and staff.

How did you get involved in the New England College Personnel Association (NECPA)?
I attended the 2009 MCPA Drive-In, volunteering with set-up. ​After that, I continued volunteering with the Drive-In and attending other events until I joined the Board in 2013.

When you aren’t working or focusing on your NECPA role, how do you spend your free time?
Much of my free time is taken up with keeping my house/yard and taking care of my pets, but I also volunteer with Girl Scouts of Eastern MA​ as a Learning Facilitator, Gold Award Advisor, Regional and National Delegate, and I volunteer at various events.

Who inspired you to get involved in Higher Education?
Jane Friedman, admissions Counselor & Greg Clement, Assistant Director of the SSC Ellison Campus Center. As an undergrad, I had Work Study in the Admissions Office for 4 years. I started as a tour guide, and was eventually brought upstairs to assist with entering application data, creating the travel schedules, and even meeting with students. I enjoyed working with Jane to determine if students on the border of admission/denial could be admitted, and might have pursued Admissions upon graduation if not for the travel schedule. I frequently said that I wanted to be Greg when I grew up. I spent most of my time outside of classes and work in the Campus Center, and his job was so active and fun. I was very much inspired by both of these people’s caring, engagement and pleasure at what they did.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your career (so far)?
“I know what I am good at, and I know what I like to do. I don’t want to just go to meetings; I want to interact directly with staff and faculty, and work with the vendors to ensure employee needs are being met. I LIKE my job and I’m good at it. I won’t be as good as VP as I am here, and that would be detrimental to the department and university​.​”​​ (paraphrased since it’s been 10 years). When a former supervisor was being bullied into taking the open VP role in our department, she threatened to leave the university​. Life shouldn’t be about titles (or even money), it should be about fit and happiness.

What is on your Higher Ed bucket list?
Serving on an ACPA Directorate Board; probably Commission for Academic Support in Higher Education or Mid-Level Community of Practice.

Why should professionals in New England get involved in NECPA?
NECPA is the closest and most relevant way to network with local colleagues for professional development. As NECPA continues to grow, getting involved now is vital to ensure we grow and flourish in ways that are pertinent to you now and throughout your professional career. As someone working in a department not traditionally included under the “Student Affairs” umbrella, my involvement with MCPA and now NECPA has been critical to being connected to other professionals, and I’ve had the opportunity to remind others that there are many people and departments involved in student development, even if they haven’t gone through the same education. NECPA is focused on connecting all higher education professionals in New England for mutual support and learning.

New England at ACPA17: Accepted Program Brian Joyce

Posted on by
Reply

Preferred Name: Brian Joyce

Employer: Dartmouth College

Position: Director of Greek Life

Title of your program: Practical Implications Towards a More Inclusive Fraternity Community

Description:
Recent national examples demonstrate the contentious relationship between the traditionally White fraternity system and race.  A 2014 racially and sexually suggestive email led to the suspension of a Kappa Sigma fraternity member at the University of Maryland (Associated Press, 2015, March 14). In December 2014, the Clemson University chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon hosted a gang-themed and racially offensive party, titled “Cripmas”, near the holiday season (WYFF, 2014, December 9). Members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at the University of Oklahoma chanted racist songs on a bus in 2015 (Associated Press, 2015, April 3).

This session presents narratives on race from a qualitative study with eight fraternity members who recently initiated into predominantly and traditionally White fraternities at a large, public university in the southeast. The critical constructivist approach used for this study deconstructed the ways in which Whiteness was perpetuated in hegemonic White spaces. The findings from this study provide student affairs practitioners with insight into implementing practical implications for creating a more inclusive fraternity community.

What you look forward to most for ACPA 17:
I am looking forward to connecting with colleagues, particularly those from the Northeast, as this is my first time living and working in this region.

New England at ACPA17: Accepted Programs by Gavin Henning

Posted on by
Reply

Preferred Name: Gavin Henning

Employer: New England College

Position: Associate Professor

Title of your program: Using New CAS Cross-functional Assessment Frameworks and Multi-Standard Self-Study Processes

Description:
Responding to user demand, CAS piloted the development of frameworks for assessing issues that transcend any one functional area. These include First Year Experience, campus safety, and high risk behaviors. They also created processes for offices responsible for multiple functional area standards to effectively and efficiently engage in self-study. This session will introduce these tools and provide direction in using them.

Title of your program: Do It Yourself CAS Program Review

Description:
Twin goals of assessment are accountability and program improvement. The CAS Standards are an essential tool for performing evaluations on your campus and can help you meet both of those goals. The standards can be used for a variety of evaluations including department review or assessing how a function is implemented across your division. During this session experienced users will provide step-by- step examples regarding how to implement different CAS standards for evaluation.

Title of your program: Using CAS for Evaluating Program Effectiveness and Student Learning

Description:
As student affairs professionals we strive to meet the needs of our students. This commitment, coupled with calls of accountability urge us to evaluate those programs and services to demonstrate their impact on student learning. The standards developed by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) are valuable tools for these forms of assessment. In this session participants will learn how to use the standards for program review and evaluation of student learning.

Title of your program:It’s OUR Job: White Male Privilege, Positionality, and Social Justice

Description:
Shame. Guilt. Immobilization. Confusion. Frustration. Although well-intentioned, many white men fall short as allies in social l justice. How do we unlearn and unfreeze? How can white men fully contribute in ways that are necessary, welcome, and affirming? This session will explore racism, white fragility, creating a curriculum of critical self-knowledge, and concrete action steps to help white men educate themselves and fulfill our responsibility to use our power and privilege to address oppression.