Administrators in Graduate and Professional Student Services
Administrators in Graduate and Professional Student Services
The Administrators in Graduate and Professional Student Services (AGAPSS) Knowledge Community provides a supportive forum for administrators who work to meet the needs of graduate and professional students. Members work across many different educational settings and often manage diverse elements of a holistic academic and student services portfolio in support of graduate and professional student success. Program formats supported by our members include both degree and non-degree student experiences, and range from traditional research-based programs, to professional school offerings, to rapidly evolving and innovative continuing education programs and formats.
NASPA is the professional home for the field of student affairs, and AGAPSS is the home for graduate student advocacy and success within NASPA.
Message from KC Co-Chairs
Welcome to the Administrators in Graduate and Professional Student Services (AGAPSS) Knowledge Community. Graduate and professional education is a growing, diverse, and very innovative sector of higher education, and our KC exists to support student affairs professionals working with students in this dynamic setting. We invite you to explore the AGAPSS website and contribute to the life of our KC via our on-going events.
We seek to be a supportive professional community for administrators working with graduate student populations from across all disciplinary settings! Whether you work in a centralized way with graduate students across your institution, or with students in a specific degree program setting, you are welcome here. Whether you work with students pursuing advanced degrees in the arts & sciences, or are fostering graduate student success in medicine, law, business, engineering, theology, or any other setting, we look forward to meeting and working with you!
Phil Covington & Jackie Yun
AGAPSS KC Co-Chairs
Leadership Team
Knowledge Community national leadership team members are NASPA volunteers who generously donate their time and enjoy advancing the profession! Comprised of both functional area leaders and regional representatives, they are one team working to support the goals of the Knowledge Community. Feel free to contact any of them to learn more about their role or the KC.
Functional Leads:
Philip Covington, KC Co-Chair
Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success, University of Nebraska Medical Center
philip.covington@unmc.edu
Marc Ebelhar, KC Secretary
Graduate Student Success Specialist, Georgia Institute of Technology
marc.ebelhar@grad.gatech.edu
Chris Hall, KC Elections & Member Involvement Lead
Director of Residence Life and Student Housing, Georgetown University Law Center
Chris.Hall@law.georgetown.edu
Matt Imboden, KC Past Chair
Chief Student Services Officer, Wake Forest University School of Business
imbodemw@wfu.edu
April Perry, KC Faculty Fellow
Associate Professor & HESA Graduate Program Director, Western Carolina University
alperry@email.wcu.edu
Valerie Shepard, KC Virtual Learning and Engagement Coordinator
Senior Writer, UCLA Recreation, University of California, Los Angeles
vshepard@saonet.ucla.edu
Ethan Williams, KC Communications Lead
Assistant Director of Orientation, Texas Wesleyan University
ethanwilliams@txwes.edu
Jackie Yun, KC Co-Chair
Executive Director, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Student Center, Harvard University
jyun@fas.harvard.edu
Regional representatives:
Katie Caponera, Region I Representative
Director of Student Life, Harvard Divinity School
kcaponera@hds.harvard.edu
Tom Rock, Region II Representative
Vice Provost for Student Affairs, Columbia University Teachers College
rock@exchange.tc.columbia.edu
Angela Watts, Region III Representative
Director for Student Success, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
WattsA@uthscsa.edu
Juliette Daniels, Region IV-East Representative
Asst Dean for Student Services & Enrollment Management, Univ of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry
danieljc@udmercy.edu
OPEN, Region IV-West Representative
Dinuka Gunaratne, Region V Representative
Director, Career Development and Experiential Learning, Northeastern Univ Vancouver
d.gunaratne@northeastern.edu
Rachael Amaro, Region VI Representative
Advisor, Dept of Educational Leadership, California State University Fullerton
raamaro@fullerton.edu
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Get Connected
The AGAPSS Knowledge Community's social meda channels are a great way to connect directly with the KC and other AGAPSS colleagues in a number of ways. You can find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/
We invite you to connect with colleagues, post job openings, ask questions on best-practice, and share articles on all things related to graduate and professional student support.
Awards
2025 NASPA Administrators in Graduate and Professional Student Services Knowledge Community Awards
Submit a nomination for the Administrators in Graduate and Professional Student Services Knowledge Community Awards! Recognizing our members for their accomplishments is an important part of the Association's mission and we need members like you to help us recognize deserving individuals!Member Resources and Events
Regular KC member activities:
- The AGAPSS KC regularly hosts events at both regional and national levels, all year round! To stay informed about both in-person and online KC events, be sure that you are signed up to receive Knowledge Community emails via the KC in your NASPA member online profile.
- We host monthly Networking Meet-ups via Zoom, conduct member surveys on topical items of interest to G&P student servies professionals, host and collaborate on professional development opportunities for members, and facilitate events for interpersonal connection and knowledge creation at regional and national conferences including a tradition of a day-long pre-conference event sponsored by the AGAPSS KC. We also enjoy collaborating with other KCs within NASPA or relevant G&P oriented associations more broadly, as well as finding opportunities to advocate for our student populations and program settings wherever possible with higher education associations, vendors, publications, and institutions.
Resources and References: Graduate & Professional Student Services & Programs:
- Click here for an ongoing listing compiled by the AGAPSS KC
Additional KC initiatives:
- AGAPSS Curriculum Project & Training Modules: A resource for developing future student affairs professionals in working with graduate student populations
- A Practitioner's Guide to Supporting Graduate & Professional Students: A recently published book, edited by AGAPSS KC leaders April Perry and Valerie Shepard
History of the AGAPSS KC:
- In 2023, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the AGAPSS KC organization, a short brochure on the founding and history of the Knowledge Community was developed. Click here to access the brochure.