News from your Regional Director

Region IV-W met in sunny Fargo, North Dakota October 26-October 30 for the Regional Advisory Board meeting and fall conference. The IV-W Advisory Board is large, topping out at 81 members! While it is difficult to get all Board members to our meetings, over 81% was in attendance. Region IV-W is known for its family feel, which begins at our Board and Business meetings. While it takes some time, every meeting begins with an “around the room” of introductions, titles, and a response to a question. It’s hard to know 80+ members of a team, but this small moment in time helps us with a snapshot into the lives of those around the table beyond the conference world.

Business was conducted as well:

• Megan Speck, New Mexico Membership Coordinator, led a discussion on new Guidelines for travel for advisory board members who need funding assistance. These guidelines were amended and approved by the Board and can be found on the IV-W website.
• Thomas Lane, Conference Co-Coordinator for the 2020 Chicago IV-WE conference, asked for $20,000 seed money to pay for conference expenses such as speaker fees and marketing. This money will be charged back to the conference budget, with the region being reimbursed. The funding was approved.
• Lori Lander, IV-W Finance Director, spoke on conference finance expectations.
• Brett Bruner, Regional SERVE Director / Public Policy Director, proposed adding SERVE to the Secretary’s position. The motion passed and the position description for this position has been posted to Volunteer Central.
• Shana Meyer presented a discussion on how to incorporate “Auxiliary” conference events more formally into the conference committee. The Region wants to cultivate new and innovative ideas, and when appropriate, institutionalize them into the conference. We will move toward the creation of a form to submit new initiatives – not just for regional conference, but for any new idea to serve the region. A committee will review submissions with a rubric and either approve them to go to the board for a vote far in advance to align with the budget cycle.
• After a presentation by Lori Lander, the Board decided to invest $50,000 out of our budget (in addition to $100,000 the Region has already invested) and use the return for conference travel scholarships.
• Richard Monroe, Community College Division Representative, presented a Proposal from the Community College division for the regional conference to always have a 1/2 day pre-con focused on community colleges prior to the conference. The Board approved a 2020 Community College pre-con, with the plan to assess it after the conference for future action.
• Alyssa Wendel, Membership Coordinator, asked for input on the Region’s state and regional social media accounts. If you have feedback or insights on how we can make our social media more relevant and useful, please let Alyssa know!
• Keegan Nichols, Professional Standards Director, provided a Proposal  to change Board membership requirements by no longer hosting a summer Board meeting for the Board as a whole. After much discussion, the Board voted to change the in-person summer meeting to an online format, beginning in the summer of 2021. An additional proposal to change the fall Board meeting schedule did not pass.
• Teresa Clounch, Regional Director-Elect, presented information regarding our 2021 conference site in Oklahoma. Tulsa and Oklahoma City were determined to be the two finalist locations.
• Members of the Regional SERVE (supporting, expanding, recruiting, volunteer excellence) Academy presented regional cohort presentations as their final Regional SERVE responsibilities. One group presented on Learning Communities (Josh Doak, Patrick Bussiere, Dalton Brasington); while another presented on the need for Wellness Breaks (Brad Luthe, Karina Knutson)
• Finally, the Board had a robust discussion on a Student Affairs Certification process, led by NASPA’s Vice President for Professional Development Stephanie Gordon and Joey DeSanto Jones, Senior Director for Student Affairs Organizational Development.

Putting together a conference is a second job, on top of the duties we all hold on our campuses. My gratitude goes out to Cassie Gerhardt and Thomas Lane, 2019 Regional Conference Co-Coordinators, for surpassing all expectations for a phenomenal conference in a welcoming city. Standing behind them was a strong and dedicated conference committee. Thank you for your commitment to the Region!

Additional thanks to Delton Gordon, Arkansas Tech University for taking on Corporate Sponsorships at the last minute when we had a position vacancy. Delton was able to raise $8000 from our Corporate Sponsors: Capstone Development Partners; Sodexo; Maxient; St. Cloud State Higher Education; University and Student Services; and OCM. Thank you for your continued support of higher education, student affairs professionals, and Region IV-W!

Region IV-W has many leadership openings that will begin in March of 2020. You can find the full list of openings beginning in January on Volunteer Central. Interested in getting involved but not sure where you fit? Please reach out to me or to our incoming Regional Director, Dr. Teresa Clounch.

Finally, mark your calendar! We’re heading to Austin for the NASPA Annual Conference, March 28-April 1. Our meetings are open to ALL members of the Region, and if you come, you’ll be welcomed to introduce yourself along with the rest of us.

NASPA National Conference Schedule - Austin, TX

Annual Conference

Austin, TX, 2020 Annual Conference

March 28 - April 1, 2020 

• Advisory Board Meetings  – Sunday, March 29,  1pm-4pm, JW Marriott 402/403
• Business Meetings – Monday, March 30^, 5pm-7pm, Hilton
• IV-W Receptions – Monday, March 30^, 9pm-11pm, Hilton and JW