A Guide to #NASPA23 for VPSAs

The Vice President for Student Affairs Initiatives planning committee for #NASPA23 in Boston has an exciting slate of experiences for you. As a guiding principle, the VPSA Initiatives committee and the Conference Leadership Committee have leaned into a planning concept of “unpacking our past to understand our future.” The VPSA Initiatives planning committee sought to create a space where we can have thoughtful, intentional, and honest conversations about our past, our present, and our future as learners, educators, and student affairs leaders. This discourse creates pathways that set in motion implementation strategies for creating a better future.

The VPSA Initiatives planning committee is planning intentional engagement opportunities through its VPSA Institute (pre-conference workshop), VPSA Colleague Conversations (facilitated sessions), and VPSA 

Institutional Type Roundtables. 

The VPSA Institute on Sunday will feature sessions on the following topics:

• Hot and emerging issues in student affairs and higher education by NASPA President Kevin Kruger
• Anti-racism work/leading or advancing an anti-racism agenda
• Understanding the generational gaps of today’s workforce/effectively leading intergenerational teams 
• Managing public relations and communications at the divisional/institutional level

Additionally, a series of wellness and well-being activities will be integrated into the VPSA Institute’s program to introduce easy-to-implement wellness strategies that are meant to model how leaders can bring such strategies into their daily work schedules.

The VPSA Colleague Conversations are scheduled throughout the conference:

• Poverty on campus and meeting students’ basic needs (Monday, April 3)
• Supporting transgender students (Monday, April 3)
• Board governance and off-campus community politics (Tuesday, April 4)
• Student affairs’ role with enrollment (Tuesday, April 4)
• Working effectively with academic affairs (Wednesday, April 5)

Facilitated VPSA Institutional Type Roundtables are also scheduled throughout the conference:

• Community Colleges
• Small Colleges and Universities (fewer than 5,000 students)
• Medium-sized institutions (5,000 to 14,999 students)
• Large institutions (more than 15,000 students)
• Minority Serving Institutions (ANNAPISIs, ANNHs, HBCUs, HSIs, NASNTIs, PBIs, and TCUs)

In Boston, you will find many engagement opportunities for VPSAs and senior student affairs officers including:

Navigating the NASPA Annual Conference as a VPSA session
Sunday, April 2, 4:00-4:50pm
BCEC 104ABC

VPSA and Voting Delegate Reception (ticketed event)
Monday, April 3, 3:45-5:00pm
Omni Ensemble B

NASPA Small Colleges and Universities Division VPSA Reception
Tuesday, April 4, 7:30-8:30pm
Omni Deco

For more information on the Boston Experience, please visit the Conference Focus Areas. We look forward to seeing you in Boston!