The Commission for Administrative Leadership (CAL), ACPA’s “Umbrella Commission” studies management concerns and emerging issues facing student affairs administrators

within the membership of our entire association.

Kent’s QuipsA note from Kent Sampson, Chair Commission on Adminis-trative Leadership

Initially, let me apolo-gize for the tardi-ness of this news-letter. It was to have been in your

hands by early June. Well, the 2008 Atlanta Convention is now well back in our “rear view” mirror. I trust you found it both stimulating and informa-tive. Some 3955 folks were in attendance.As elected directorate body members of the Commission on Administrative Leadership, our challenge is to move forward to best serve our colleagues. We have a number of venues through which this can be accomplished: newsletter, listserv, e-mail, web-sites, etc. My challenge is for each of us to be a “core producer” to help enable CAL to live up to its 9 “Guiding Principles.”

CAL Updates

DOLESSI

Volume 2, Issue 2 December 2008

Thoughts from the Outgoing ChairLaura A. Bayless

It has been both a privilege and a plea-sure to work with you over the past 10 years on the good

work of the Commission for Administrative Leadership (CAL). I have enjoyed explor-ing burning issues, seriously considering the work and direc-tion of ACPA, and tackling the challenge of student affairs’ contribution to institutional accreditation. I found our dis-cussion of the Commission’s guiding principles to be stimu-lating and right on target. And I have learned from and en-joyed my contact with CAL members each and every year. The new CAL leadership team has excellent ideas and energy, and a wonderful slate of Directorate Body members with which to collaborate. I look forward to assisting in any way I can.

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In This Issue

Kent’s Quipspg. 1

Thoughts from the Outgoing Chair

pg. 1

CAL Sponsored Programs

pg. 2

Diamond Honoree

pg. 2

Burning Issuespg. 3

Upcoming Elections

pg. 5

2009 Convention Info

pg. 5

DOLESSI

2008 CAL Sponsored Programs The Commission was pleased to sponsor 5 educational programs at the 2008 convention in Atlanta. Educational programming continues to be a way to tell our stories, train each other in our areas of expertise, and learn new skills. A big thank you to ev-eryone who submitted a program for review as well as to our 13 great CAL program reviewers.

Here’s a quick review:

The Role of Mentoring in Retention of Student Affairs Pro-fessionals: This program covered mentoring techniques that help retain student affairs professionals and examined what men-torship from all angels. Presenters: Greg Iaccarino (UW-Madi-son), Heather Nagelkerk (Albion College), Katy Witmer (Seattle University)

Building Confidence at the Top: Learning as a New SSAO: This panel presentation explored the first-year of the Senior Student Affairs Officer and included discussions of common challenges; development of vital university relationships; the challenges of inheriting a staff; and the creation of a vision. Pre-senters: Heath P Boice-Pardee (RIT), Jeanne Steffes (Syracuse University) Geneva Walker-Johnson (Old Dominion University )

Innovative Approach to Organizational Thinking: Creative Questioning for Departmental Evolution: George Wash-ington University’s Housing Programs shared how they trans-formed the department in a 12-month time frame including transitioning mission, staff, operations, and internal and external perceptions. The outcome was a residential curriculum that won the ACPA Outstanding Innovation Award for 2007. Presenters: Corbin M Campbell (University of Maryland),James Kohl, U- Massachusetts, Lowell), Lyndsey Walther-Thomas, (GWU) and Devin Cogswell

Decentralized Budgeting: What does it mean for Student Af-fairs? This session explored higher education’s movement toward decentralized budgeting and accountablility (Responsibility Cen-tered Management) and it’s impact on our profession. Presenters: Mark A Kretovics (Kent State University)

A Cohort-Based Model for Women’s Leadership Develop-ment (Co-Sponsor: Standing Committee for Women): This presentation discussed the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in American higher education. Lessons from a women’s leadership group were discussed as well as the value of a cohort-based model for women’s leadership develop-ment. Presenters: Lee H. Calizo (UMBC),Patty Perillo (David-son College)

A couple of year’s ago, CAL made it a strategic priority to nominate a Diamond Honoree every year. The Diamond Hon-oree Program, through the ACPA Foundation, recognizes the work of practioners and scholars who have made signifi-cant contributions to the field of student affairs. With our strategic prior-ity comes a new challenge from the current and outgoing CAL chairs.

Help CAL become a first! We have been challenged, in our nomination of this year’s Diamond Honoree, to be the first commission to have its entire Direc-torate make a contribu-tion to the ACPA Foun-dation to honor CAL’s 2008-09 Diamond Hon-oree, Steve Sutton. Give whatever you can and show the association the power of administrator’s from all across student affairs supporting a great cause and association!

You may donate by going to:http://www.my-elf.org/

Be sure to note that your gift is for the nomination of Steve Sutton as Dia-mond Honoree.

Help CAL Make History!

Please Remember...... to make sure your membership profiles have the Comission for Administrative Leadership listed as a committee option (under Membership, Committees).

Additionally, please keep your email address current for the ListServ--you can do this by logging into the Membership page and going to ‘Manage your Email Subscriptions’ under MyRecord.

At the 2008 Convention in Atlanta, CAL launched a more expansive forum and discus-sion of burning issues. Directorate members were asked to read an article that exam-ined issues around student mental health issues. In particular the article is titled The highly self-destructive college student: Some clinical, ethical, and disciplinary consider-ations (Amada, 2004). CAL spent 2 afternoon time slots discussing and debating how

we should (or should not) shift responses, penalties, and interventions with student mental health concerns such as attempted suicide, acting out, and potentially violent behavior. Many mem-bers had stories and concerns that were discussed about whose role and ultimate responsibility it is to ensure the safety and early alert process that could be triggered by these types of students and the balance between community safety and individual student support and accountability.

The group also focused on created a list of potential burning issues that could be the starting point for fall 2009. A topic will be chosen by the Burning Issues subcommittee and CAL mem-bers, along with other commissions, will be invited to participate in a book club, online discus-sions, and other activities to assist student affairs professionals in exploring current issues impact-ing the field. Suggested topics included:

SustainabilityEmergency management and response/threat AssessmentStudent Assessment Committees/Threat DetectionDiversity issues around intergenerational issues and perceptions?Managing and dealing with controversial and/or hate groups visiting campusFinancial planning issues for students/staffSurvival strategies for staffMid-level training on organizational management, financial management – how do we transition professionals from point A to point B in their career?Competency needs as professionals move upOnline social networking tools (e.g. Facebook, MySpace, etc.)Revisiting/analyzing Boyer’s future of higher education/campus community 20 years later (survey of college Presidents and Vice-Presidents)Assessment and AccountabilityCounseling and accommodations for GIs of the Iraq warImmigration Policies/law changes

If you would like to suggest a topic or participate in the Burning Issues Book Club and activities, please contact Heather Roberts at robertmh@jmu.edu CAL looks forward to continue to pro-vide this important and exciting professional development opportunity for all who are interested.

CAL Launches ‘Burning Issues’ Forum

Quips (cont’d.)Our three Vice Chairs (Melinda Farmer, Skip Begley, and Tim Gor-don), have committed to regular communica-tion with their com-mittees and chairs. We gathered in December for a mid-year plan-ning session in an-ticipation of the 2009 Convention to be held in Washington, D.C. (March 28-April 1, 2009).

The ACPA Summer Leadership meeting took place in July at Davidson College in North Carolina. A number of issues were addressed both by the Assembly as well as the Commission Chairs – future issues will share this infor-mation.

Online elections for the new Director-ate Body will be held December 18-31st. The membership also has the opportunity to select a Chair-Elect to serve by my side. Please remember to cast your vote by the 31st of December.

Clearly, there is a place and need for each of us to contribute. The topics and options are many and varied. If you are unsure of your role or seek a new one, please con-tact your Vice Chair or myself. (kent.samp-son@okstate.edu).

Congratulations to the three Vice-Chair mentees appointed at the December CAL

Leadership meeting!

In the spirit of CAL’s emphasis on burning issues, here is a sum-mary of some thoughts from Dr. Greg Roberts, Executive Di-rector of ACPA. These observations are taken from notes I made when Greg participated in the Commission Chairs’ meeting on Wednesday of the Atlanta convention.

Greg charges each Commission to explore and provide guidance about the following:o What are best practices in our areas? o How can we inform and engage practitioners and re-searchers to explore best practices in our areas and promote ef-fectiveness?o How do we present our individual message to the ACPA membership?The following are areas of importance to the US Congress in light of higher education:o Accountabilityo Affordabilityo Accesso Accreditationo Immigrationo International Studyo ACPA would expand “International Study” to mean not only facilitating our students “going away” but also getting stu-dent affairs professionals abroadThe following is a burning issue for campuses of all kinds to consider:o How will veterans be served by and affect our campuses?In this era of shrinking funding, it is important to know that many of ACPA’s corporate partners are interested in providing research grants. Commissions should work through the ACPA International Office to strategize about how to access this mon-ey.

The Commission for Administrative Leadership has important work to do. I have been consistently impressed with CAL’s in-tentionality to reflect on campus-level and national/international considerations in our work. I look forward to observing and par-ticipating in CAL’s future.

All good things,Laura A. Bayless, PhD

Outgoing Chair Comments (cont’d.)

The Commission for Administrative Leadership invites you to serve as your leadership team. This commission is comprised of profes-sionals from a wide variety of student service areas within higher education. We continue to strive for diverse representation reflecting these areas on the board as well. Please assist us with this by examining the information provided.

ELECTION PROCESS: December 18, 2008 – December 31, 2008

The Commission’s Election Process opens Thursday, December 18, 2008 and will close at 11:59 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, December 31, 2008. Winners will be notified via e-mail so that they may register in time for the early bird registration deadline for the national conference.

We are conducting two elections at the same time: Commission Chair-Elect (by e-mail) and Commission Directorate Body (by on-line voting).

Voting Eligibility: To receive updated information and to cast your votes, you will need to maintain a current ACPA Membership, in-dicate this commission as a committee, and be signed up to this listserv. If you are unsure about your status and/or committee profile, contact the ACPA National Office at 1-202-835-2272, or log onto www.myacpa.com and select “Membership”.

Candidate Information: There are eight (8) candidates for the six (6) Directorate Body Member positions and one Commission Chair-Elect running unopposed. To learn more about the candidate’s professional experiences and interests in serving the commission, visit the CAL Elections webpage (http://www.myacpa.org/comm/adminlead/elections.cfm) starting December 18th.

To access candidate information and the Directorate Body Ballot, you will need your:

ACPA Username (Member Number) ACPA Password (Last Name)

Commission Chair-Elect Candidate: Melinda Farmer, Vice President for American Campus Communities.

Directorate Body Class of 2012 Candidates: Listed Below

Jennifer Booz, Mercy College Robert Dotson, Texas A&M – Commerce Ashleigh Heck, Michigan State University Angela Jackson, Longwood University Nicole Lepone, University of Cincinnati Denise Ottinger, Washburn University Laura Pantano, Texas A&M – Kingsville Evelyn (Scoobie) Woods – Oklahoma State

Commission Chair-Elect Position: You may submit up to one (1) vote by e-mailing your choice to: leeanna-lamb@utulsa.edu.

Directorate Body Members: You may vote for up to six (6) candidates for the six vacancies by following the email link sent to you by ACPA at the start of the election period or by logging into the Members Only Page of the ACPA website and clicking “Elections.”

If you have technical difficulties, contact RJ Holmes at rholmes@cornellcollege.edu. Until then, feel free to contact me at (1-918-631-5059) or leeanna-lamb@utulsa.edu.”

Best Regards,LeeAnna Lamb, ACPA Commission for Administrative Leadership, Elections CoordinatorDirector, Allen Chapman Activity Center & Coordinator of Summer Conference Services The University of Tulsa

We invite you to be a part of the 2009 Metro DC Convention, where you will be encouraged to ex-plore and tap into your own and our collective: Power to Imagine: - inspires us, sparks our creativity, renews our spirit, and refocus-es our commitment to our profession. Courage to Act - with renewed energy, propels us back to our institutions with a greater sense of strength, motivation, and ability to make a difference in the world.

The Power to Imagine Courage to Act starts now! Join us at the 2009 Convention in Metro DC to explore the infinite possibilities.

http://convention.myacpa.org/index.cfmFor 85 years, the ACPA

Convention has served as the primary means for association members’

professional and personal learning and growth. Each spring, we pause to advance our skills, share re-

sources, explore new ideas, and reconnect with colleagues. Our

minds are opened to new possi-bilities, encouraging us to imagine

a future in which we are more effective educators, advocates,

scholars, and practitioners - better able to serve each

other, our institutions, and our students.

The Early Bird Registration deadline for the 2009 ACPA Convention in Metro DC is January 21, 2009. Please remember to mark your calen-dars and submit your registration before then!

Upcoming Elections