October 2024 Newsletter
In this edition:
- President's Message
- JASPA Treasurer Position
- JASPA Pipeline Stewardship Committees
- Careers in Student Affairs Month
- 2024 JASPA Innovation Grant Spotlight
- 2024 JASPA Awards Spotlight
- 2025 IgnatianQ Conference
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President's Message
Dear JASPA Colleagues,
October is Careers in Student Affairs Month and an apt time for us to reflect with gratitude on our work with students.
I have long thought that accompanying young adults as they come home to themselves is, perhaps, one of the most fulfilling ways to spend one's professional life. Posing questions and involving them in programs that help them examine and form their world views is an awe-some responsibility. In a way, our work in student affairs helps shape the future.
I believe this is true no matter what institution we serve. And I also believe that the meaning and purpose of student affairs at Jesuit institutions takes on an extra dimension.
Our work outside the classroom invites students to form their consciences: to be people for and with others, to strive for solidarity with people living in the margins, to develop habits of reflection, discernment and contemplation, and to discover who they are called to be in the world. Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach named the goal of Jesuit higher education: to form people of "competence, conscience, compassion, and commitment."
Those of us who have worked in institutions outside of the Jesuit network have experienced the difference, this extra dimension. Often times we know it's there by instinct but have difficulty putting our fingers on it or articulating what makes student affairs different at Jesuit institutions. If this describes you, you're in luck.
In June, our association will gather at Loyola New Orleans for JASPA’s 5-Year Institute. This five-day immersion experience will offer renewal and invite us into a deeper understanding of our particular mission in Jesuit student affairs. If you'd like to learn more about the Institute, look for special offerings from JASPA's online enrichment programming. If you've already raised your hands to join your institution's delegation, congratulations. I look forward to spending this special time with you.
Until then, take good care.
Michele
President, JASPA
Senior Vice President for Student Development and Mission
College of the Holy Cross
JASPA Treasurer Position
Are you looking to join the JASPA executive board?
We are searching for our next Treasurer. Terri Mangione has served as our Treasurer for many years and is ready to pass the torch. Have a passion for finances and fundraising? Then this is the role for you.
The Treasurer supervises the fundraising chairs, reports to the President-Elect, attends monthly executive board meetings, processes account payables and receivables, updates the board of directors and membership of our fiscal health, and ensures that JASPA remains fiscally responsible for our sustainable future. The executive board would like the treasurer to begin shadowing Terry in January 2025. The treasurer is a two-year renewable term.
Applicants should email Deb Cady Melzer (JASPA President-Elect, Loyola University Maryland) at dcmelzer@loyola.edu by November 15 with a short paragraph stating your interest and experience.
JASPA Pipeline Stewardship Committees
In November 2023, JASPA leadership launched the Pipeline Stewardship Initiative. This initiative seeks to connect more closely our AJCU graduate preparation programs in student affairs with divisional needs and opportunities of JASPA institutions and members. Some areas for stewardship are graduate program recruitment of undergraduate students and staff colleagues, summer internship opportunities, as well as career placement for graduate students and recent alumni.
Based on feedback received last spring, we seek participants to form three committees:
- Graduate Preparation Program Recruitment
- Summer Internship and Career Placement Opportunities
- Mission Onboarding and Career Sustainability for Early and Mid-Career Professionals
If you are interested in one of the three committees listed above, please complete the survey below and in the "Other Comments" section indicate which committee you are most interested in joining.
https://seattleux.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8GoEX3CCHxe4pr8
Note: If you completed this survey last spring, you will be contacted soon.
Questions? Contact Erin Swezey (JASPA Vice President for Pipeline Stewardship, Seattle University) at swezey@seattleu.edu.
Careers in Student Affairs Month
Are you looking for a graduate program in Student Affairs or know someone who is?
Spread the word! Featured are graduate preparation programs in Higher Education and Student Affairs offered at JASPA member institutions. Some Jesuit colleges and universities also offer advanced degrees and doctoral programs, so check out their websites for more information.
Why pursue a graduate degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs?
- Discover your “why” and define your professional identity.
- Build your network and community with like-minded practitioners and faculty.
- Develop relevant skills to enhance your career with theory-to-practice learning.
- Develop critical knowledge about today’s college students and the future of higher education.
- Study within the context of Jesuit education and mission, dedicated to holistic development, professional formation in leadership, equity and inclusion, and social justice.
Jesuit graduate preparation programs to consider:
Boston College, MA in Higher Education
- Four specialization options: Higher Education Administration, Student Affairs, Spirituality, Faith and Formation in Higher Education, and Global Perspectives
Canisius University, MSEd in Higher Education Leadership and Administration
- Textbook costs plus attendance to regional and national student affairs conference included in tuition
Fordham University, MSE in Educational Leadership
- Leadership focus in schools and educational organizations
Georgetown University, MPS in Higher Education Administration
- Focus areas in Student Affairs, Administration, or create your own
- Online program options
Loyola University Chicago, MEd in Higher Education
- Optional summer study abroad opportunity in Rome, Italy
Marquette University, MEd in Student Affairs in Higher Education
- Concentrations include generalist, student success, or leadership development
Saint Louis University, MA in Higher Education & Student Affairs Administration
- Internship and research opportunities within the field
Saint Peter’s University, MA in Education: Higher Education
- Site-based activities and internship opportunities integrated in curriculum
Seattle University, MA/MEd in Student Development Administration
- MA and MEd degree options, both include personalized internship experience and equity and inclusion focus
University of San Francisco, MA in Higher Education & Student Affairs
- Class schedule catered to working professionals, most classes offered Thursday and Friday evenings or on weekends
JASPA colleagues, please share this information with your students, recent alumni, and early-career professionals. Spreading the word about our graduate programs engages all of us in celebrating Careers in Student Affairs Month!
The above content was compiled and written by Jocelyn Boudreau, Graduate Student, Seattle University.
2024 JASPA Innovation Grant Spotlight
"Exploring What Factors Influence How Female Undergraduate Students
Make Meaning of Their Personal Boundaries for Consent"
at Loyola Marymount University
Note: This spotlight is the following reflection by the grant recipient in their own words.
The nature of my research is sensitive and asks participants to be vulnerable by sharing their stories and lived experiences. The JASPA grant allowed me to offer participants incentives, which aided my recruitment efforts.
My goal was to identify 12-15 eligible participants, and thanks to the JASPA grant, I successfully recruited 21 participants instead.
My research was inspired, in part, by the book Sexual Citizens, which I highly recommend to all student affairs professionals!
2024 JASPA Awards Spotlight
2024 Ignatian Medal for Outstanding Commitment to Diversity & Social Justice
Paige Gardner at Seattle University
Note: This spotlight is the following reflection by the award recipient in their own words.
Receiving the "Ignatian Medal for Outstanding Commitment to Diversity & Social Justice," inspired me to get to work and expand my research agenda and professional practice to engage the community in three distinct ways.
- As of now, my research has expanded to center the spiritual formation of BIPOC students, educators and leaders. This passion led me to present on preliminary research at the AJCU Assembly 2024: "Women in Jesuit Mission: At the intersections of race, faith, and justice." This year, I had the honor to serve in program coordinator role for Center for Jesuit Mission and the Women in Mission initiative. In this work, I assisted in launching a spiritual affinity space for Women of Color. To learn more about the Women in Mission (WIM) and Women of Color in Mission (WOCIM) initiatives at Seattle U, view the success report here.
- Seattle University's College of Education (COE) has received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation a three-year, $2.2 million grant to work in partnership with six publicly funded charter schools and three traditional public schools across Washington. I am thrilled to join a select group of COE faculty who will serve as co-principal investigators in leading the Public Education in Beloved Community Initiative (PEBCI). This dynamic initiative will pursue and document an innovative approach to measuring school effectiveness, by highlighting the unique connection Washington's strongest schools have between their mission, the community they serve and the academic outcomes they deliver. This grant provides intentional space for K-12 educators and leaders to radically imagine Dr. Martin Luther King's tenets of Beloved Community sparking creativity and community-based learning between educators, students, and members of their surrounding community.
- Lastly, it brings me joy to share that I along with four dynamic Black women scholars will prepare to launch a Fall 2025 Ghana Study Abroad. This fall, the instructor cohort will travel together to design curriculum and co-construct multi-generational research. As a Black women research team, we know that Black women educators have expertise and ancestral knowledge that can deepen the Jesuit ethos. We look forward to sharing what is unearthed from this labor of love.
As you can see, I have been busy in the best ways imaginable. As a faculty who is dedicated to justice and inclusion, I look forward to lifting as I climb and continuing to open doors for those who follow behind my footsteps.
2025 IgnatianQ Conference
Loyola Marymount University has been selected to host IgnatianQ on April 3-6, 2025. The IgnatianQ conference -- held annually by a Jesuit institution -- is a student ministry for LGBTQIA+ students. It provides a space for members of this traditionally marginalized community to come together, grow their Catholic faith, explore their personal relationship with God, and strengthen bonds with their Catholic peers. This will be LMU's first time hosting IgnatianQ, and the third time this conference was hosted on the West Coast.
LMU Mission and Ministry, Student Affairs, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion -- in collaboration with a student planning team -- will lead this effort to create community, develop spirituality, and affirm the humanity of LGBTQ+ students in Jesuit schools.
Our decision to host IgnatianQ is rooted in our commitment to the Church's call to treat LGBTQ+ Catholics with "respect, compassion, and sensitivity" free from “every sign of unjust discrimination.” This event allows us to accompany marginalized youth on their journey to God, putting our Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount values into action.
The conference is planned for April 3-6, 2025. These dates account for Ramadan, Easter, Passover, and spring breaks. Attendees will stay at two local hotels in Marina del Rey for the duration of the conference with bus transportation provided to and from our campus. A more detailed schedule and information about keynote speakers will be provided in spring 2025.
We invite you to join us in welcoming IgnatianQ to Los Angeles in April 2025 and we hope your students will join us. More information on registration and our call for proposals can be found at the following link:
https://www.lmu.edu/ignatianq/
John Sebastian, Ph.D.
Vice President, Mission and Ministry
Emelyn A. dela Peña, Ed.D.
Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Kawanna Leggett, Ed.D.
Senior Vice President, Student Affairs
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