News from your Regional Director

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Region IV-W

Author
Shana Warkentine Meyer, RD

Published
June 5, 2018

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In late May, over 50 Region IV-West Student Affairs professionals met in Wichita, Kansas to plan the fall 2018 conference on-site at the Wichita Marriott and to develop plans for the future of the Region.  In a snapshot, your Advisory Board:

• Reviewed Board member expectations and outcomes
• Heard “Big NASPA” updates, including information on grant work, the inaugural TPE onsite in Denver Colorado, July 6-7, 2018, and Fraternity / Sorority Life Town Halls & Summits
  • Student ARC:  https://studentarc.org/
  • Center for First-Generation Student Success: Https://firstgen.naspa.org/
  • Institutions’ Use of Data and Analytics for Student Success: https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/DATA2018_DOWNLOAD.pdf
• Finalized our 2019 conference location in Fargo, North Dakota
• Discussed purchasing projectors for our region to cut participant costs for regional conferences
• Reviewed the 2020 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Region IV-E for a joint 2020 regional conference in Chicago, IL
• Approved the schedules for the fall 2018 regional conference & Mid-Level Institute (MLI), as well as rates
• Balanced and approved our Regional 2018-2019 budget
• Connected the ACPA / NASPA Professional Competencies to our Regional Board position descriptions

And we discussed so much more!  Since it was shared (not by Shana!) at the Advisory Board meeting, it’s only fair to make sure our region has heard the following: Where does a boat go when it is sick? …..To the dock! Board members have all kinds of information to share about what happened over the days we met in Wichita; please reach out if you have any questions about how your regional board is and can serve you!  Many thanks to the Conference Committee & the Advisory Board for their leadership & commitment to the profession and our region!

The work continues long after the summer Advisory Board meeting—and we are looking for your feedback.  NASPA is developing the 2019-2022 strategic plan. Phase One is gathering feedback from the regions.  We want your thoughts on the following questions:

1. What has the student affairs profession done well in the last 5 years?
2. What are the most pressing concerns regarding student access, persistence, and completion in higher education?
3. In what ways do you see the student affairs profession addressing these pressing issues in the future?
4. How can the student affairs profession prepare current and future leaders to meet the challenges of a sometimes volatile and turbulent higher education environment?
5. Given the varied cultural, political, and/or ideological perspectives in higher education, how can NASPA continue to support all student affairs educators, ensuring that all viewpoints are included, valued, and engaged?
6. There are enormous challenges and opportunities on the horizon in higher education that will need us to think bigger and disrupt the status quo. What are the big ideas that will change the way we do business?
7. What are the ways the student affairs profession must evolve to support student success in this new model?
8. What is NASPA's role in this/these change(s)?

Please provide your feedback here: https://www.naspa.org/about  .  The results of this survey will be used in the NASPA National Advisory Board meeting in July to develop the Association’s goals for the next strategic plan.

Phase Two of strategic planning will occur at the regional conference in October.  You can look forward to reviewing these goals and building objectives for the plan’s goals. The National Advisory Board will meet again in December for Phase Three and to develop the final outcomes, based on your feedback. It is our hope to continue gathering feedback until March of 2019, when the NASPA National Board hopes to approve the plan for launch in March 2019 at the NASPA Annual Conference in Los Angeles.

I am so proud of your fellow Regional Board members and the work they are doing on behalf of the Region.  You can see the team on the NASPA Region IV-W website (https://www.naspa.org/constituent-groups/regions/region-four-west/roster), and make sure to engage on our Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram feeds (@NASPA4W).  We are here for you, ready with the cheesy jokes & full of information.  Let us know what you’d like to see from your Regional Advisory Board!

Until next time,

Shana Warkentine Meyer

NASPA IV-West Regional Director

Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of NASPA. If you agree or disagree with the content of this post, we encourage you to dialogue in the comment section below. NASPA reserves the right to remove any blog that is inaccurate or offensive.