March Newsletter: Inclusion
- President's Post
- See you in Los Angeles! JASPA 2019 Updates
- Mission Moment
- Promoting Summer Internships for Graduate Students
- March Blog: Marci Walton, Xavier University
President's Post
As we approach our annual conference in Los Angeles, we focus this month on inclusion in our work. I wanted to share some brief thoughts and quotes on this work, which is a core element of what makes Jesuit student affairs work so rich and vital.
First, I want to note a continuum – from diversity to inclusion to justice. We begin with questions of who is part of our campuses and our communities, and we know that pursuing diversity is essential. Yet it is not enough simply to note who is present and who is absent, and how we might change those facts. We need to move from there to pursue inclusion – a sense of welcome and connection and care for all the individuals who may be our students and our colleagues. This represents real progress, but is incomplete if we are not working for justice – for structures and processes and ultimately for realities that bring about a more just campus and a more just world.
Our particular call in the Ignatian tradition is that we pursue all of that work with love and with a spirit of generosity. In that spirit, I wanted to share three quotes that I recently shared with colleagues on my own campus at the start of our annual “Strengthening our Inclusive Community” conference – a gathering where we consider these goals and how to move toward justice.
Each of these quotes is a helpful lens for me in considering our values and our priorities and our actions in these efforts. Audre Lorde reframes “the problem” in a helpful way. Dr. Martin Luther King reminds us of the imperative to approach this work with love. Esther Lloyd-Jones, an early pioneer in student affairs, centers our work on what our students absorb (or perhaps what they internalize in today’s language), and reminds us that our policies and programs are not the permanent legacy of our work for justice. That legacy is found in who our students grow to become.
It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences. Audre Lorde
Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Strength to Love (1963)
It is not what is imposed, but what is absorbed, that persists. Esther Lloyd-Jones
I look forward to seeing many of you in Los Angeles very soon, and I wish all of you courage and creativity and compassion for your work in the busy weeks ahead.
Todd Olson, Phd
JASPA President
2019 JASPA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Departures to LMU times are as follows:
From JW Marriott (NASPA) – 10am | 11am| 12noon | 5pm | 6p
From MdR Hotel (JASPA) – 10:30am | 11am | 11:30am | 12noon | 12:30pm | 5:30pm | 6:00p
Late registration will be 12:45- 3pm in the Life Science Building Foyer
Banquet Registration Table 5:30-7pm in the Jesuit Community
Departures from LMU are as follows:
- Return to JW Marriott (NASPA) – 9pm | 10pm | 11pm
- Return to MdR (JASPA) – 9pm | 10pm | 11pm
A finalized schedule with additional details coming soon, so keep an eye out on your email!
Mission Moment
On February 19, the Vatican Dispatch published an article describing the four apostolic preferences of the Society of Jesus that were recently approved by Pope Francis. These preferences, presented by Arturo Sosa, S.J., will guide the Jesuits and lay collaborators over the next 10 years.
The four preferences include:
- To show the way to God through discernment and the Spiritual Exercises;
- To walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice;
- To accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future; and
- To collaborate in the care of our Common Home.
As you read this brief article, consider the following questions:
- How can we, as Jesuit student affairs educators, be guided by these preferences in our daily work?
- How can we work with campus colleagues to bring these preferences to life in service to our students and institutions?
Jeanne Rosenberger
Santa Clara University
Past President, JASPA
Promoting Summer Internships for Graduate Students
Dear colleagues,
If your institution will be offering summer internships that are open to graduate students from other institutions, JASPA can help you to recruit candidates from Higher Education and Student Affairs Graduate Programs at Jesuit colleges and universities across the country. Please send an email to innovationgrants@jesuitstudentaffairs.org and attach a Word document or pdf file that includes a position description for the internship, information about how to apply, and contact information for the person managing the application process. There should be a separate file for each position.
Information about summer internship opportunities will be added to an online folder that will be shared with faculty members in Higher Education and Student Affairs Graduate Programs at Jesuit institutions. Faculty can then share information with graduate students in their programs. Information will be updated as it is received in the email account for innovationgrants@jesuitstudentaffairs.org . Please send a message to that email account if you have any questions about this process.
Sincerely,
The JASPA Innovation Grants Committee
March Blog: Logging Off
Five years ago, I was a new convert to Twitter. Several trusted colleagues, Carmen and Josie from Loyola Marymount University and Renee from Marquette, convinced me there was a whole new world of professional development, connection points, and networking available in (at that point!) 140 characters or less. I was soon participating in online #SAchat conversations, and making connections right and left. Once I saw the options for professional development, I was hooked and wanted to take my connections even deeper.
I was soon transitioning to a new role at Loyola Chicago and wanted to get involved with JASPA. I had previously attended our annual conference, but wasn’t sure where my entry point to the organization could be. I soon emailed Kathleen Brucato and asked her if could apply to work with her to help with her Social Media and Communications Committee. She graciously brought me on board and before I knew it, I was tweeting away on behalf of JASPA. Kathleen was a truly incredible committee chair, having built the committee, social media, and communications approach from scratch. This nearly daily contribution to the association came in the form of social media posts, member management, and newsletter content collection, organization, and dissemination. In the olden days of the committee, this also involved Kathleen sending out our monthly newsletter at a specific time on the first Friday of the month, regardless of what was going on with her life or work, since our system did not allow for drafts or delay sending! Kathleen, thank you for your selfless, consistent, and mission-centered work to keep our members connected, engaged, and informed of our Association’s work!
Two years ago, I was honored to take on the chair position. As I look back on my time, I am reminded of the importance of staying connected to JASPA throughout the year. Of course, our yearly conference is an incredible time to reflect, engage, and be rejuvenated through reconnected with dear friends. We are able to share our struggles and celebrate our accomplishments. Our five-year institute allows us to go deeper, engage more holistically, and form even tighter bonds with people who just “get it.” While these events are truly transformational, the vast majority of our time with JASPA is not in-person, but instead doing work on our 28 respective campuses and staying engaged online.
I’m proud of the work our committee has accomplished in the last two years. While we have grown our follower count significantly, I am most proud of the unique engagement opportunities offered to our members. One of my first projects I brought to Kathleen was bringing a monthly blog to give voice to individual members in our association. I am thrilled to have featured over 50 consecutive Jesuit student affairs professionals, having never missed a month! Whether it was our very first blog from Renee Piquette Dowdy to how one department processed the 2016 election, to giving voice to many graduate students on our campuses, I have deep gratitude for those professionals who took time out of what we all know are very busy schedules to take a step back, reflect, and put pen to paper to further the professional development of our members. For all of those friends and colleagues who responded to the call for authors, my deepest gratitude.
I am also deeply proud of specific projects this committee was able to accomplish. Last year we created a daily Examen for members going through The Placement Exchange as a way to reflect on their day, express gratitude for the experience, and discern their next steps. We asked members to do social media takeovers to give our members insights into their experiences at functional area conferences. We challenged Five Year Institute attendees to post mission-driven photos throughout their experience in San Francisco. We cheered on Loyola Chicago’s improbable march to the Final Four and helped our members fall in love with Sister Jean. We live-tweeted from annual conferences and celebrated our member’s contributions at the annual awards banquet. We created recruitment materials to provide to candidates interviewing with institutions to further the JASPA brand and mission to potential members.
Throughout all of these initiatives, the common thread was connection: Connection to our experiences on our campuses with students, connection to each other, and connection to what makes Jesuit education unique. It is my sincere hope that JASPA’s online presence helped you feel more connected to our association and to each other. There are challenges at any university, but unique ones present at Jesuit universities, but those unique challenges are also what make us strong and by engaging in online spaces throughout the year, we can all feel a little less alone and a little more connected. As I cycle out of this leadership role, I feel more connected to JASPA than ever before. My final charge as Chair is to make sure you are following up on all three networks! Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all amazing ways to stay connected throughout the year! I am grateful for the ability to give back to the association over the past five years and with that, I’m logging off.
Marci Walton is proud to serve the students of Xavier University as the Associate Director of Residence Life. She started her career in Jesuit education at Loyola Marymount University and fell in love with the mission-centered, service-oriented approach to education and subsequently held positions at Santa Clara University and Loyola University Chicago. She has managed all social media and communications for JASPA for the past two years and contributed for the past five years. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her niece, exploring Cincinnati with friends, laughing at her two French Bulldogs named Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, and working towards a Master’s degree in Human Resource Development from Xavier. You can keep in touch with Marci on Twitter @MarciKWalton
|