Conference Focus Areas

Student affairs has always had a holistic focus on students, and that includes the overall health and well-being of students and staff in our charge. Our awareness of what it means to be healthy and balanced has evolved, which requires a refocus on the way we support others; therefore, our work has also changed. At the same time, student affairs educators must also focus on our own health and well-being and that of staff in our charge. From the Okanagan Charter to a focus on holistic well-being initiatives, we must collaborate across the proverbial silos to achieve and sustain being a health-promoting campus. And we can start with us. We must bring health, joy, and positivity to every professional level to achieve healthy excellence in the profession.

• How do we become a health and well-being promoting profession for students and staff entrusted in our care and leadership?
• What are ways that you use joy to the workplace and use it as an act of resistance in the justice, equity, inclusion, and belonging space?
• How can we create a positive, healthy environment ensuring sustainability in the profession?

Supporting students and ensuring their voices are heard, their needs are being met, and they are able to fully experience the learning environment is core to the profession. As we look to the future, student affairs must boldly advance initiatives that improve our profession’s capacity to evolve and meet the needs of the higher education environment; we must think differently about how we work to retain students, engage them in community, and support their success and their sense of belonging. These initiatives are two pronged - they must address student support and the evolution of our staff’s perceptions of the work. We must create a culture of change that directly addresses barriers which impede our work, both externally and internally. Higher education is being scrutinized at many levels and we must continue to keep student success at the center.

• What are ways leaders in your organization create a culture of change and think boldly to address crises and challenging issues?
• What ways are you using technology (artificial intelligence, chatbots, etc.) to be nimble and evolve our practice?
• How do we ensure that  bold change includes the return on investment and impacts to staff in positive ways?
• How have you modeled and provided opportunities for change, innovation, and transformation to occur at your institution?
• How have you and your institution (or organization) addressed the pervasive scrutiny that many have of the higher education industry?

As a profession, student affairs is composed of multi-generational, dynamic, and values-driven educators who are making a difference for students every day. Each generation defines work differently, and it is important we understand the varied perspectives that define our community. Student affairs is a diverse and multi-layered community. Institutions and associations are responsible to build and sustain this profession. To be successful, we must continue to nurture and develop entry-level professionals who join our campuses each year, uplift managers and directors who lead from the middle, and highlight and celebrate those who have long-served in higher education. From student-affairs-adjacent roles to those who come from outside the profession, we must be clear and transparent about required competencies, the commitment to life-long learning, and pathways to leadership. And, at the same time, we must clarify the expectations for effective practice to ensure sustainability of the profession.

• How have you adjusted the student affairs model to support the expectations and boundaries of a multi-generational workforce??
• What are ways you have celebrated the diversity of generations, perspectives, and opinions of student affairs educators on your team(s)?
• How do you ensure student affairs work includes an asset-based, proactive approach to serving students and supervising individuals and teams?
• What innovative initiatives have you implemented that support and retain a diverse workforce?
• How do we celebrate and honor the work of those who lead from the middle, our managers and directors who are influencers, supervisors, mentors of new professionals, and innovators of student-centered best practices?

Committed to high moral principles exhibiting authentic, honest, just, and ethical behavior.

Seeking ways to ensure access, voice, acknowledgement, opportunity, and participation at all levels.

Supporting research and scholarship to add to the knowledge base of the profession and ensure that data informs practice.

Continuously seeking improvement through new and creative approaches.