
August 28, 2023
Early Registration Deadline
September 18, 2023
Regular Registration Deadline
September 18, 2023
Hotel Room Block Deadline
September 29, 2023
Last Day to Register
2023 NASPA Institute for New Vice Presidents for Student Affairs
Division/Group Events Supporting the Profession VP for Student Affairs
October 9 - October 12, 2023 Arlington, VA
The NASPA Institute for New Vice Presidents for Student Affairs is a foundational faculty-led, four-day learning and networking experience that prepares new VPSAs to be strategic decision-makers, highly effective managers, and transformational leaders.
Participation in this institute is limited to the highest-ranking student affairs officer at the institution.
Presented By

About
The NASPA Institute for New Vice Presidents for Student Affairs is a foundational faculty-led, learning and networking experience that prepares new VPSAs to be strategic decision-makers, highly effective managers, and transformational leaders. This professional development opportunity is designed for first-time VPSAs (and other highest-ranking senior student affairs officers on campus such as vice chancellors and deans of students depending on organizational structure) who have not assumed office or are in the first two years of their first VPSA position. Participants must be the highest-ranking student affairs officer on their campus. (VPSAs in interim roles are eligible to attend.)
Join us just outside of Washington, DC in Arlington, Virginia in October for this faculty-led, cohort experience to hone your executive-level competencies and to develop your go-to peer network.
Faculty
Accomplished vice presidents for student affairs representing a variety of institutional types will serve as the institute faculty and guide the highly interactive learning experience for the cohort.
Featured Speakers
Schedule
This exclusive professional development program is an institute. Unlike conferences where participants choose to participate (or not) in concurrent sessions, during this institute all attendees will participate in the same cohort experience and are expected to engage fully in all aspects of the program including meals and offsite activities. It is a very intensive experience, and the program will run into the evening each day.
October 9
October 10
October 11
October 12
9:30 AM - 12:45 PM
Check-In
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Pre-institute Session for New VPSAs Who Are Relatively New to Student Affairs
Details
One of the Institute's strengths is that it draws participants from remarkably diverse backgrounds and experiences including some who are relatively new to the field of student affairs. Please join the Institute faculty and other new-to-student-affairs VPSAs for some informal discussion about the opportunities and challenges connected with assuming the VPSA role without a deep student affairs background and anything else that’s on your mind!
1:00 PM - 1:50 PM
Institute Welcome and Participant Introductions
1:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Your Moment is Now! Unfolding into the Vice Presidency
Details
During this opening session, the Institute faculty will share how they have transitioned into institutional leaders through their VPSA roles. The faculty will offer insight based on challenging circumstances–both personally and professionally–and how they overcame those challenges to advance to positive and successful outomes for themselves, their divisions, and their institutions. In this session, participants will be encouraged to consider the tensions that come with who they are as institutional leaders, who the institution needs them to be, and how they can create the moments that matter for their students and communities.
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Refreshment Break
Make that quick call to the office or respond to that urgent email. Better yet, enjoy a light snack and connect with a new colleague!
3:30 PM - 4:50 PM
Cultivating Your Superhero Power
Details
Successful execution of student affairs and institutional leadership requires mindset shifts, grown-up leadership, and a management makeover. This session is designed to get you “out of the weeds” and thinking and acting as a higher-level institutional leader. Stay alert for the practical nuggets we will share to ensure you achieve your visionary goals and stay true to your leadership creed. Join the ranks of T’Challa , Spider Gwen, Thor and Captain Marvel with your abilities to think and act as a higher-level administrator.
5:00 PM - 5:45 PM
Introduction of Coaching Teams
Each day during the Institute, you will gather with the same small group facilitated by one of the Institute faculty members.
5:45 PM - 6:30 PM
Break
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Institute Dinner with Keynote Address
This Monday evening dinner is an institute tradition! NASPA President Kevin Kruger will offer an engaging and data-informed talk.
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Breakfast with NASPA President Kevin Kruger
Kevin shared a lot of information about what's happening now and what's likely to happen in the future inhigher ed. Here's your chance to dig into some of it with him in an informal way over breakfast.
9:00 AM - 9:20 AM
Introduction to Day 2
9:20 AM - 10:30 AM
Living and Leading Authentically
Details
Utilizing Bill George’s Authentic Leadership model as a guide, participants will explore the intersectionality between the five qualities and their identities and how they show-up inside and outside of the workplace. Participants will develop a leadership creed that is reflective of their personal and professional experiences.
10:30 AM - 10:50 AM
Break
1:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Wellness Activity
11:00 AM - 12:10 PM
Incorporating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Into the Vice President Role
12:15 PM - 1:30 PM
Institute Luncheon
Details
Quickly respond to that urgent email from campus, but hurry to lunch. It’s plated! Also, why not sit with someone you haven’t met yet?
1:40 PM - 2:50 PM
Evolving Competencies: Success as a VPSA
Details
As a senior leader in higher education, serving as a vice president for student affairs will require new skills and the ability to be nimble to meet the expanding demands of the role. While you can build on past successes, your mindset for your VPSA responsibilities will need to evolve. Additionally, working in a pandemic has changed the context of our work and your leadership will require a new level of ongoing learning and strategic thinking to thrive in your new position.
2:50 PM - 3:20 PM
Refreshment Break
3:20 PM - 4:30 PM
Coaching Teams
Each day during the Institute, you will gather with the same small group facilitated by one of the Institute faculty members.
4:30 PM - 5:45 PM
Break
5:45 PM - 6:30 PM
Institute Mixer
Details
Dozens of new colleagues, tasty hors d’oeuvres, and a friendly bartender…what could be better at the end of the day? The immediately following no-host dinner groups will launch from the mixer.
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Dinner (no-host) with Institute Participants
Details
It’s been a long day, and you’re tired. You’re thinking, “I do not want to have dinner with people I barely know.” Yes, you do! Don’t miss this opportunity to continue to build your network and to continue the big conversations that began earlier. Connect with your group during the institute mixer in the F. Scott Fitzgerald Ballroom Foyer by 6:30 p.m. sharp to stroll to a nearby restaurant for your 6:45 p.m. reservation. (Please click into your profile in the "Attendees" section of the institute app to view your designated group and restaurant; dinner will be at your own expense.)
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Breakfast
Details
Fuel up for another intense day with a hot breakfast with fellow institute participants. Consider joining one of the pre-determined table discussions.
9:10 AM - 9:20 AM
Introduction to Day 3
9:20 AM - 10:30 AM
Becoming the Ideal Team Player
Details
Exemplary vice presidents accomplish things by building trust and creating strong relationships with members of their institution’s leadership team. Known as the “first team,” this includes vice presidents and other senior leaders outside of student affairs across campus. During this session, the faculty will present real-life scenarios that allow you to practice this important leadership advantage under the best and the worst circumstances. Are you prepared to make the leap from team builder to team contributor? We will explore ways to demonstrate to yourself – and your colleagues – that you are ready to play.
10:30 AM - 10:50 AM
Break
Details
You've been meaning to follow-up with a faculty member about something they shared during an earlier session. Seize this opportunity!
10:50 AM - 12:00 PM
Everyday Change is Good
Details
Forces of change are converging that are shaking the foundations of higher education institutions and threatening the very existence of student affairs as an independent function. No matter a college or university’s size, student body, affiliation, or type, every campus is facing increasingly complex challenges: budget deficits, public health concerns, and weary faculty and staff who are continuously doing much more with less. Higher education is clearly at a critical inflection point – and we will need new, innovative, bold, forward-thinking, and compassionate leadership that focuses on the systems, structures, and cultural norms that are the heart of our most challenging societal problems and that are spilling over into higher education. Senior student affairs officers are uniquely positioned to turn these threats into opportunities if they make the best use of their positions to lead innovation and change.
This session aims to offer participants the opportunity to think about change in a favorable way, acknowledging that change is inevitable (planned or unexpected) and may occur on a daily basis. Participants will consider establishing a framework for addressing change from the perspective of a newly-minted senior leader. This implies identifying a change model that will result in successful change management in the student affairs divisions of higher education institutions and a model that should help student affairs practitioners to approach change appropriately.
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch with Coaching Teams
Details
Grab some lunch in the F. Scott Fitzgerald Ballroom Foyer and then join your coaching team for some more great discussion and insights. See Monday, 5:00 p.m. for locations.
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Break
Details
Take a few moments to connect with campus and be sure to change into comfortablle clothes (and shoes!) before gathering in the hotel lobby at 2:00 p.m. to travel by Metrorail to Washington, D.C. Don't forget the SmarTrip card we provided to you when you checked in for the institute.
2:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Networking time in Washington, D.C.
Details
This afternoon, you’ll have a break to explore some of what Washington, D.C. has to offer. When you checked in for the Institute, you were provided with a SmarTrip card, which will support your Metrorail ride to Washington, DC and back to Arlington. See the "Wednesday Afternoon Outing" section of the institute app for infomation about outing options and directions. If you will join a group outing, please meet in the hotel lobby at 2:00 p.m. sharp.
8:00 AM - 8:45 AM
Breakfast
Details
The hotel check-out time is 12:00 p.m. You should check out before breakfast (or request a late check-out time). You may leave your luggage with the bell desk or in our meeting space.
8:45 AM - 8:50 AM
Transition Time
8:50 AM - 8:51 AM
Introduction to Day 4
8:55 AM - 9:50 AM
You Cannot Pour from an Empty Cup
Details
Serving as the architect of the student experience and number one student advocate can be rewarding; however, one must prioritize one's health and well-being to sustain oneself in this work. This session will help participants identify strategies and techniques to help them thrive and remain centered, not only in this work but also in their personal endeavors. This session will conclude with a self-reflective activity to remind participants of their "why."
9:50 AM - 10:10 AM
Break
Details
Make sure you take this final opportunity during the Institute to connect with people you may have missed until now.
10:10 AM - 11:10 AM
Coaching Teams
Each day during the Institute, you will gather with the same small group facilitated by one of the Institute faculty members.
11:15 AM - 12:00 PM
Institute Closing Session
Pre-Institute Offering
Pre-Institute Session for New VPSAs Who Are Relatively New to Student Affairs
Monday, October 9, 2022 | 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
One of the Institute's strengths is that it draws participants from remarkably diverse backgrounds and experiences including some who are relatively new to the field of student affairs such as VPSAs who come from the ranks of faculty or academic administration. Please join the Institute faculty and other new-to-student-affairs VPSAs for some informal discussion about the opportunities and challenges connected with assuming the VPSA role without a deep student affairs background and anything else that’s on your mind! Registration is required for this optional—but highly encouraged!—session.
Registration
Registration as a member is based on individual membership status at the time of the event. If your current membership will expire prior to the event, you will have the option to renew at the time of registration to receive the member rate.
If you are not a current member and are employed by a college or university that is an institutional member, you can join as a professional affiliate member for $80. If your institution is NOT a member, you can join as an associate affiliate member for $250. Both membership types provide access to the individual member rate for the event. Please visit the membership section of the NASPA website to learn more about membership types and benefits. We hope you’ll consider joining today!
If you are experiencing financial hardship, you may qualify for a NASPA Foundation Membership Scholarship or NASPA Foundation Professional Development Access Scholarship, which can be used for this event. The deadline to apply for a NASPA Foundation Access Scholarship is August 31, 2023.
For a comprehensive listing of NASPA registration policies, please visit this page.
Participation in this institute is limited to the highest-ranking student affairs officer at the institution. VPSAs in interim roles are eligible to attend.
The last day to register is September 28, 2023.
Registration |
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Early RegistrationThrough 8/24/2023 |
Regular Registration8/25/2023 through 9/14/2023 |
Late Registration9/15/2023 through 9/28/2023 |
NASPA Member |
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$995 | $1145 | $1245 |
Non-Member |
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$1195 | $1345 | $1445 |
Pre-Institute Session for New VPSAs Who Are Relatively New to Student Affairs |
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Early Registration |
Regular Registration |
Late Registration |
NASPA Member |
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$75 |
$95 |
$115 |
Non-Member |
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$125 |
$145 |
$165 |
Additional Information
Registration Policies
Refunds will be given for cancellations, received in writing by August 24, less a $50.00 processing fee. In addition, a processing fee of $50.00 per registration will be charged for credit cards declined.
For a comprehensive listing of NASPA registration policies, please visit this page.
Questions?
Registration: NASPA Event |
James Stascavage |
Venue

Westin Arlington Gateway
Arlington, VA
Most institute activities will take place at the Westin Arlington Gateway.
NASPA has arranged special room rates for institute attendees at the Westin Arlington Gateway starting at $259/night (not including taxes and fees). The cut-off date to receive the institute room rate is September 18, 2023. Rooms in the institute block may sell out prior to the cut-off date, so please make your reservation as soon as possible.
Reserving a room within the NASPA block by using the hotel's dedicated meeting website or toll-free telephone number not only benefits you, it also helps to support the institute. When you book within our block, you help NASPA keep meeting costs as low as possible and enable us to provide some of the important features meeting attendees have come to enjoy, such as networking receptions, coffee breaks, and off-site transportation.
Hotel | Room Rate / Night |
Westin Arlington Gateway |
$259 - Single/Double $259 - Triple $259 - Quad |
Additional Information
Travel
The Westin Arlington Gateway is serviced by the Ronald Reagan Washtingon National Airport (DCA). The hotel is approximately 7 miles from the airport. Visit airport website for more information.
This hotel does not provide shuttle service.
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Estimated taxi fare: 25 USD (one way)
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Alternate transportation: rideshare
Parking
Self-parking, fee: $40 USD per car / per night
Valet parking, fee: $48 USD per car / per night
Weather
The average temperatures in Arlington, VA are around 69 degrees F during the day and 48 degrees F in the evening. As the conference gets closer, please visit the Weather Channel for more information.
Please note, the hotel and meeting areas may have cooler temperatures. A sweater or jacket is recommended.
Past Participant Testimonials
Sponsors
To learn about sponsorship opportunities for the 2023 NASPA Institute for New Vice Presidents for Students Affairs, please contact Fred Comparato at 614-204-5994 or at [email protected].