2014 ACPA Presidential Symposium

Location: St. Louis, Missouri, USA

A Time for Rethinking Student Affairs: A Call to Action #ACPARETHINK ACPA Presidential Symposium

The live streaming of the Presidential Symposium has concluded.

Join ACPA President Dr. Kent Porterfield, Vice President for Student Development at Saint Louis University, for two days of action and engagement around critical issues facing our profession.

Guiding Question: To what extent do we need to rethink student affairs preparation, organization and practice to help our institutions effectively address mega-issues of access, affordability and accountability?

Learning Goals:

• Begin to consider whether new and different student affairs structures and organization are needed to more effectively address:
  • access to higher education,
  • making college more affordable for a greater number of students,
  • ensuring that student affairs work and resources are guided by evidence and accountability for desired student and institutional outcomes.
• Analyze and challenge current student affairs models of practice in light of the mega-issues.
• Identify what specific roles student affairs leaders can have in helping higher education and our respective institutions addressing the mega-issues.
• Inspire a call to action for ACPA and the student affairs field to rethink preparation, organization, and practice to the extent that we, as student affairs professionals, are better able to help higher education address the mega-issues.

The Presidential Symposium is generously supported by Saint Louis University. 

Presidential Symposium Agenda

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

3:00 – 5:00pm Optional Tours of Saint Louis University

5:00pm Opening Reception

6:30pm No Host Group Dinners

Thursday, June 12, 2014

7:30 – 8:45am Breakfast

8:45 – 9:00am Welcome and Agenda/Vision Setting

Dr. Kent Porterfield, ACPA President and Vice President for Student Development at Saint Louis University

Dr. Cindi Love, Incoming Executive Director of ACPA

9:00 – 9:45am Opening Keynote – Overview of Access, Affordability, and Accountability in Higher Education – Dr. Martha Kanter

Dr. Martha Kanter, is the former Undersecretary of Education, United States Department of Education. Dr. Kanter currently serves as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Higher Education at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Prior to her tenure at the U.S. Department of Education, where she focused on educational excellence and equity in education, Kanter served as chancellor of the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District in California (2003-2009) and as president of De Anza College (1993-2003) in Cupertino, Calif. Kanter holds an Ed.D. from the University of San Francisco (1989), an M.Ed. from Harvard University (1974), and a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University (1970).

9:45 – 10:45am Speakers Panel, Moderated by Doug Lederman, Editor, Inside Higher Education

Panel Participants:

• Dr. Martha Kanter
• Dr. Diana Natalicio
• Mary Wall
• Jillian Kinzie

10:45 – 11:00am Break

11:00am – 11:45pm Plenary: Dr. Diana Natalicio – Focus on Access

Diana Natalicio was named president of UTEP in 1988. During her long and distinguished career with the University, Dr. Natalicio has served as vice president for academic affairs, dean of liberal arts, chair of the modern languages department and professor of linguistics. Her sustained commitment to provide all residents of the Paso del Norte region access to outstanding higher education opportunities has helped make UTEP a national success story. A graduate of St. Louis University, Dr. Natalicio earned a master's degree in Portuguese and a doctorate in linguistics from The University of Texas at Austin.

11:45  – 12:45pm     Working Lunch – Small Group Brainstorming

12:45– 1:30pm Mary Wall, Senior Policy Advisor, United States Department of Education – Focus on Affordability

1:30 – 1:45pm Break

1:45– 2:30pm Dr. Jillian Kinzie, Associate Director, National Survey of Student Engagement – Focus on Accountability

Jillian Kinzie (Associate Director, Center for Postsecondary Research & NSSE Institute) coordinates the NSSE Institute project activities. Her PhD is from Indiana University in higher education with a minor in women's studies. Jillian comes to the NSSE staff from the faculty at IU where she coordinated the master's program in higher education and student affairs from 2000-2002. She has more than a decade of additional experience as a research associate and administrative work in academic and student affairs. Jillian's research interests include college choice, first year student development, teaching and learning in college, access and equity, and women in underrepresented fields.

2:30 – 2:45pm Break

2:45 – 4:15pm Rethinking Student Affairs: A Facilitated Dialogue and Data Jam

4:15pm Closing Remarks and a Call to Action, Dr. Kent Porterfield

5:00pm Optional No-Host Dinners