Dear MCPA Members,
The holiday season is a time for friends, family, and traditions, it is also a time of reflection. This past year was the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Massachusetts College Personnel Association. MCPA was founded in 1975 and received an ACPA state division charter on April 12, 1976. Since then, MCPA’s mission has been to bring together professionals from across functional areas and with varied years of experience, to promote communication, to create meaningful professional relationships, and to provide opportunities for members to explore issues within the field of higher education.
As we continue to celebrate MCPA’s Ruby Anniversary we look toward the future of professional development. This past semester the MCPA Executive Board worked to draft new organizational bylaws. This was the first major bylaws revision in many years. This revision was necessitated by several factors, including the signing of a new chapter agreement with ACPA – College Student Educators International and updates consistent with the organization’s operations. The bylaws draft also proposed the expansion of MCPA’s membership to serve not just higher education professionals in the Commonwealth, but all higher education professionals in New England.
Per the current MCPA bylaws, membership was given the opportunity to read the proposed changes and to comment on the proposal. Feedback was received and incorporated into the final proposal. Members were given one months notice of the vote to review the proposed changes. The online voting period was held for one week, December 5 to December 12. The voting period ended with an overwhelming show of support with more than 90% of votes cast in favor of adopting the new bylaws.
The new bylaws will take effect on January 1, 2016. With these new bylaws in place MCPA will transform into the New England College Personnel Association, an ACPA chapter representing all six New England states. While the bylaws will be effective January 1, 2016, next year will be a year of transition. We will work towards transitioning to a new fiscal and programming calendar, a new executive board structure, and expanded opportunities for higher education professionals in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The current Executive Board is working hard to develop a transition plan with the goal of full implementation by January 1, 2017.
I hope that you are as excited as I am about the future of our wonderful organization. To celebrate the future of the New England College Personnel Association (NECPA) we will be hosting three “Launch Party” socials at the end of January. The socials will be held in Keene, NH; Hartford, CT; and Boston, MA. I hope to see you at one of the socials in January.
If you would like to review the bylaws you may do so on our website: http://ma.myacpa.org/about-mcpa/mcpa-bylaws/. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
John Mayo
MCPA President
John Mayo is the 39th President of the Massachusetts College Personnel Association (MCPA). John has been a member of MCPA since 2010 and has served in various roles on the MCPA Executive Board. Professionally, John Mayo is the Assistant Director of Residence Life at Newbury College in Brookline, MA. John is responsible for all the operational areas including keys, room assignments, work orders, and housing selection. Additionally, John oversees the Main Campus residence halls.
John holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from Bridgewater State College (now University), a Master’s degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University.
Outside of his work in Higher Education, John is a commissioned Justice of the Peace in Brookline, MA and is a member of the Massachusetts Justices of the Peace Association (MJPA). John lives on-campus in Weltman Hall with his wife Sara and their Cairn Terrier Kodi.
Contact John:
Mail: Student Center 105, 129 Fisher Ave., Brookline, MA 02445
Office: 617-730-7156
Email: john.mayo@newbury.edu
