Leadership Exchange - Summer 2011

Dear Colleagues:

Calling all 12,000 leaders in NASPA. One of the underlying motivations that links us as profes- sionals is our desire to make a difference as leaders in student affairs. Our collective and varied leadership efforts are needed now more than ever. We must ask ourselves, however, what should leadership look like if we are the leading voice for student affairs administration, policy, and practice? From my perspective, leadership must be ready to engage in creating an expanded vision of NASPA, and leaders must be ready for change.

Who are these leaders I am describing? These leaders are all of us who work together through NASPA to bring about the kind of change necessary to address today’s challenges in higher education. Addressing these challenges requires a willingness to look hard at ourselves as an association to determine how we build on our strengths and expand our reach. How do we continue to be relevant, nimble, and effective as a 21st-century higher education association?

As leaders in student affairs, we cannot afford to let change affect us. We must decide through our various leadership roles to engage, influence, and create change directly. We must also be willing to make the necessary changes to sustain our association’s vision and mission and function even more effectively as an influential body in higher education. We must come together as a coalition of leaders that are multi-talented, multi-faceted, and able to multi-task to generate new ideas and solutions to problems we currently face or anticipate. John Kotter in Leading Change (Harvard Business Press, 1996) describes eight signature criteria to effect change in an organization. One of those criterion is creating a sense of urgency among the members of an organization. With a shared sense of urgency, the members sharpen their focus to work together to create the necessary, relevant, and significant changes.

It has been my experience that such urgency also facilitates our best strategic thinking, planning, and action steps for the greater good. Ultimately, we must stand together as NASPA members to make significant change in the profession a reality. That sense of urgency is prompted by the state in which higher education finds itself. It needs our voice, our best thinking, and our contributions through research, programs, policies, and advocacy.

From the broad perspective to day-to-day operations, this issue of Leadership Exchange
explores many of the changes senior student affairs officers (SSAOs) are successfully navigating
in working with senior management, colleagues, and students. Whether they are identifying
new partnerships or seeking new revenue sources, SSAOs are bringing higher levels of creative
and entrepreneurial skills to their positions as they learn to operate in what one colleague has
described as the “new normal.”
I count on NASPA members to expand their leadership involvement in our association by
serving as informed participants in the strategic planning process that is commencing this sum-
mer. It is our hope, when appropriate, that you can align your respective areas of responsibilities
with NASPA’s future plan to become a stronger leading voice for student affairs and a more
active participant in higher education.

Change is best achieved through people who embrace a shared vision. Our collective vision must be to sustain one of the most vital and long-established rights afforded to citizens by participating fully in transforming the education of college and university students. The results of our shared vision can be multiplied many times over as we create and share through NASPA. I am counting on you to join me in this exciting journey.

Publisher NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education

Executive Editor Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy

Managing Editor Nancy E. Grund

Contributing Editors Melissa Dahne Kaaryn Keller Kevin Kruger

Designer Sese-Paul Design

Advertising Manager Fred Comparato

Editorial Board James E. Scott Academy James Conneely, Chair Linda Clement Kathleen Collins Patrick Day Berenecea Johnson Eanes Shannon Ellis Kenneth Elmore Bill Flanagan Barbara Jones Harry Le Grande Brian Haynes Deneece Huftalin Kent Kelso Todd Olson Karen Pennington Daniel Pugh Larry Roper Wm. Gregory Sawyer Mike Segawa Renee Barnett Terry Charlotte Tullos Lori Varlotta Sue Weitz

Leadership Exchange is published four times a year for senior student affairs officers in higher education. Letters to the editor are welcome. For subscription information and advertising opportunities, please contact the NASPA office.

Leadership Exchange NASPA 111 K Street, NE, 10th Floor Washington, DC 20002 Fax 202.898.5737 E-mail le@naspa.org

Sincerely,

Copyright © 2011 by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), Inc. Printed and bound in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission from the publisher.

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