June updates from the NASPA AVP Steering Committee

Dear NASPA AVP Colleagues,

 

Like many of you I have been trying hard to make sense of this topsy-turvy world that has suddenly become our new reality. The devastating impact of COVID-19 has shifted everything we understand and has forced us to confront a new and different way of living and being. This in addition to the most recent spate of racial unrest and the pain and suffering so deeply felt within our communities is threatening to overwhelm us all. In my attempt to find meaning to this madness, I found myself reaching for my dog-eared copy of Viktor Frankel’s Man’s Search for Meaning. Reading the words written by a man who survived terrible atrocities in some of the worst concentration camps of Nazi Germany, I was reminded that circumstances beyond our control can take away everything we own in this world, but we will always have the freedom to choose how to respond to whatever life decides to dole out. As Frankel so aptly writes “...it did not really matter what we expected from life but rather what life expected from us...Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”  It is with that mindset that I want to let you know that the NASPA AVP Steering Committee remains steadfast in our commitment to offer our membership a wide array of professional engagement and development opportunities.  Notwithstanding a pandemic, the Steering Committee has been actively engaged in developing new and innovative ways to keep you abreast and in step with the never before faced challenges confronting our professional lives. Innovative ways to deliver content via a virtual platform will be the favoured mode of connection. Stay tuned for more information about upcoming offerings.

 

We have recently welcomed some new members to the Steering Committee and are happy to introduce:

• Shannon Gary, Associate Vice Provost of Student Life and Dean of Students, University of San Francisco
• Paul Irish, Associate Dean of Students, College of the Holy Cross
• Shea Kidd Houze, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Life & Dean of Students, The University of Tennessee
• Nicole Mayo, Assistant Vice President, University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
• Stephanie Pickett, Associate Vice Provost, North Carolina State University
• Melinda Sutton, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Southern Methodist University

For a complete list of our Steering Committee membership please visit the AVP specific pages on the NASPA website. 

 

Recently, we hosted a series of AVP Dialogues on topics that included Mental Health and Well-being, Free Speech and Political Expression and Organizational Change and Leadership Transitions. The facilitators of the sessions, with true AVP panache, were able to lead the conversations using the current state of affairs as an opportunity to dialogue and learn from colleagues. The sessions were well attended and we are looking to hold more of these in the coming weeks.  

 

What types of topics would you like to engage in with your AVPeeps? We are looking to develop and implement a diversity of programs that will continue to enrich and engage our membership. If you have a topic you would like to learn more about and/or engage with your colleagues please drop me a line at shadia_sachedina@fitnyc.edu.  

 

Please engage us on the AVP twitter account @NASPAavp to share the ways in which your institution has been addressing COVID-19. If you have a colleague you would like to spotlight on our AVP Latest and Greatest section let us know. We are always looking for ways to showcase the innovative and creative ways that we conduct our work.

 

I wish us all a peaceful summer. May we be safe, may we be happy, may we be healthy, and may we find the space to feel the joy that is possible even in these difficult circumstances.

 

Best Wishes,

Shadia A. Sachedina, Ed.D.

Chair, NASPA AVP Steering Committee

Assistant Vice President for Student Success & Dean of Students
Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY