Synopses & Reviews
Change is inevitable. Managing change is a choice.Authored by three esteemed leaders in the field of student affairs, Making Change Happen in Student Affairs: Challenges and Strategies for Professionals is a thought-provoking and pragmatic guide to the increasingly complex challenges and expectations that administrators face from both students and the public. Whether it’s pressure to provide better programs and services with fewer resources, or difficulties grappling with economic challenges and technological change, the book teaches how to become an effective leader and skillful strategist in order to respond to a rapidly changing landscape.
Readers will learn to change their thinking about how they approach challenges by reframing their purpose, role, and function as leaders. Each chapter includes specific concepts and tools that can be used to tackle the most complex campus issues and develop effective plans of action. You’ll learn how to:
- Manage financial resources and supervise staff effectively
- Advocate for specific students while still recognizing diversity and maintaining service to all
- Adapt to institutional culture, ethics, values, and changes in leadership
- Use technology as a tool to effect change on campus
By applying shared foundations, ethical principles, a rich knowledge base, and experience, student affairs professionals can develop powerful strategies to confront and resolve vexing problems. With extensive examples and case studies that cover a wide array of issues, this book is an essential read for those looking to make a real difference in the lives of their students and the health of their institutions.
Synopsis
This book is a call to action for student affairs leaders as they encounter ongoing and emerging issues and problems facing their students, their staff, and their institutions. It reframes the purpose, role, and function of student affairs leaders as educators more than mere service providers. By applying shared foundations, ethical principles, a rich knowledge base, and experience, student affairs leaders can develop effective strategies to confront and resolve vexing problems. While not prescriptive, the book describes practical strategies for analyzing problems and issues and developing effective plans for action.
Each chapter includes concepts or tools that might be used to confront issues and problems on campus (e.g. management of financial resources; staffing and supervision; diversity and multiculturalism; advocating for some students while serving all students; managing mental health issues, using of technology to affect change, working with and adapting to institutional culture, ethics, values, and change in leadership). Through extensive examples and case studies, the book shows student affairs leaders how to strategically apply these concepts or tools to resolve a variety of issues they face.
Synopsis
Praise for
Making Change Happen in Student Affairs“Barr, McClellan, and Sandeen bring decades of experience to this in-depth examination of the most pressing issues facing higher education. Their unique focus on developing successful strategies to address these issues makes this a ‘must-read’ for senior leadership working in higher education.”
—Kevin Kruger, president, NASPA
“This is an excellent resource for student affairs leaders and practitioners looking for ideas and solutions for engaging change strategies in their work within higher education organizations.”
—Linda Kuk, chair, Higher Education Leadership Program, and associate professor, Colorado State University
“A much needed book for presidents and grad students alike! Excellent background for CEOs as it will help them realize the professional integration of student affairs in college leadership. The use of case studies and reflective questions are very helpful to graduate students and mid-level professionals.”
—Penelope (Penny) Wills, president, Yavapai College
“Leading change in higher education requires insight, passion, and above all courage. This book provides a thoughtful and instructive blueprint for practitioners at every level of the student affairs profession.”
—Barbara H. Snyder, vice president for student affairs, University of Utah
About the Author
Margaret J. Barr is professor emeritus in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. She received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the NASPA Foundation in 2012 and is the author of
Budgets and Financial Management in Higher Education with George S. McClellan and
Critical Issues for Student Affairs with Arthur Sandeen.
George S. McClellan is the vice chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne. McClellan is the editor of The Handbook for College Athletics and Recreation Management with Chris King and Donald L. Rockey, Jr. and The Handbook for Student Affairs Administration, Third Edition, with Jeremy Stringer. He writes a column in The Chronicle of Higher Education on career issues in student affairs.
Arthur Sandeen is a professor of educational leadership at the University of Florida. He received the John L. Blackburn Distinguished Service Award from the NASPA Foundation in 2014 and is the author of Enhancing Leadership in Colleges and Universities, Enhancing Student Engagement on Campus, and Improving Leadership in Student Affairs Administration.
Table of Contents
Preface iv
Acknowledgments vii
About the Authors ix
1 Using Foundational Documents and Ethics in Our Work
2 Applying Theory, Literature, and Data to Practice
3 Using Resources to Effect Change
4 Utilizing Technology in Search of Success
5 Advocating for Some Students While Serving All Students
6 Fulfilling Our Responsibilities as Educators
7 Reframing Our Professional Practice as Institutional Leaders, Entrepreneurs, and Change Agents
8 Looking Toward the Future
References
Cases
Statutes