March 2011

Welcome CSAL Alumni!

Welcome to the first GVSU CSAL Alumni Newsletter! We plan to send one newsletter per semester. Please help us stay in touch with you! Send us any updates or changes in your contact information as well as job changes, promotions, awards, accomplishments and family changes. Visit the CSAL website to stay in touch at http://www.gvsu.edu/csal/keep-us-posted-3.htm.

CSAL Update

Greetings CSAL Alumni!

Dr. Lorraine Alston and I have been busy keeping up with the dramatic enrollment increases in both the College Student Affairs Leadership and Adult and Higher Education programs. This fall we enrolled a record 120 students in both programs, a long way from the 15 students who were enrolled back in 1995-96 in the first CSAL cohort!

We are also excited to have gained approval of some significant changes to both programs which were implemented this winter semester. These changes include a required second practicum for all CSAL students. Both EDG 648 (The Adult Learner) and EDG 649 (Career Guidance) were eliminated as required courses, which opened up an additional elective for students.

Three new courses have been approved as electives for CSAL but required for Adult and Higher Education. These courses include EDH 656 (Organization and Administration in Higher Education), EDH 657 (The Community College), and EDH 658 (Critical Issues in Higher Education). We also “unbundled” the old Master’s of Education in General Education so that our degree program is now a Master’s of Education in Higher Education with two emphasis areas (CSAL and Adult and Higher Education). We continue to work on requesting funds for a third full-time faculty member.

Many of you will be happy to know that Tom Butcher and Pat Smith have rejoined the faculty to teach EDH 654 (Student Affairs and the Law) and we have hired several additional adjunct faculty (Michelle Burke, Marlene Kowalski-Braun, Aaron Haight, and Eric Mullen). Bart Merkle, Ginger Randall, Diana Pace, Andy Beachnau, Barb Palombi and Glenna Decker also continue to provide support to the program through advising Master’s projects and theses.

Please feel free to contact either Dr. Alston or me, continue to recommend students to our program, and stay in touch. I hope to see some of you in Philadelphia at the National NASPA conference.

Cheers!

Jay Cooper, Ed.D.
Associate Professor
Program Coordinator
Master’s of Education in Higher Education programs
cooperj@gvsu.edu

Dr. Lorraine Alston
alstonl@gvsu.edu  
 

Lisa Ortiz - CSAL Success Story

Lisa graduated from the CSAL program in 2002. She worked at Hope College as the Residence Life Coordinator for 3 years, then moved to Earlham College for 3 years serving as the Assistant Director of Residence Life. Lisa currently works at Ferris State University as the Assistant Director of Residential Programs and Services. We had a chance to speak with Lisa when she came back to GVSU to present at one of our CSAL Professional Development meetings. She told us "the program gave me the opportunity to have a large range of experiences to add to my professional portfolio. I experienced everything from programming to facilities management to advising. GVSU provided me with many different professional opportunities and really cared about my development as a graduate student. The classes did a great job of taking theory to practice and prepared me to enter the field successfully. The Greater Grand Rapids area also provided diversity in experiences. The city was open for exploring and provided many different experiences to take advantage of; from museums to zoos to cultural events. All your basic needs are met with new experiences that are waiting within a few minute drive (or bus ride) away."

Lisa credits GVSU for providing a great foundation of theory and skills to be a success in the positions she has held. "My graduate assistantship was in Student Life, but my professional experience is in Residence Life. The skills that I learned in the classroom and in my assistantship provided me with tangible, transferable skills that made me successful in my current area of Residence Life. This foundation is apparent in the daily work that I do and will continue as I look on to a doctoral degree and my future in student affairs."
 

CSAL Grad Assistant Profile

Kate DeGraaf (‘12)
Laker Leadership Program GA
Office of Student Life

Where did you get your undergraduate degree? Cornerstone University

What was your major? Elementary Education (Language Arts and Reading)

How did you first get interested in a career in student affairs? During my undergraduate experience I was very involved in our leadership programs and housing. The summer before my senior year I had multiple conversations with mentors and they suggested I look into student affairs full time. The summer before my senior year I applied for the Resident Director position. I went through the interview process not thinking they would give it to a student, but they did! It was through that experience of being in charge of a whole building that made me see that I had a passion to serve college students helping them grow and develop. I taught 4th grade for a year, but missed working along side college students. I am very blessed to be in a position where I get to pay back the same kindness that many mentors gave me that helped me grow and become the person I am today.

Is there a particular reason you chose the CSAL program at GVSU? I chose to come to Grand Valley for a couple reasons. There were two alumni of the CSAL program that talked very highly about their experience. My uncle and a great friend encouraged me to apply. I was drawn to the cohort program because it valued both knowledge/theory and provided experience to apply what I learned. Even though I was very involved during my undergraduate degree I did not have the language and resources to help me do the job to the best of my ability. I was also drawn to Grand Valley because it was mid-size but still had that feel of a small community!

What are you doing in your assistantship? My assistantship is in the Office of Student Life with Leadership and Service initiatives. I have had the privilege of coordinating campus-wide leadership programs and seminars. One of my favorite projects has been working with a student led planning board to put on an annual leadership conference (14th year) for students all over the state of Michigan. It was great to collaborate with professionals all over the state to offer over 30 educational sessions for students to attend. I have also enjoyed coordinating our First Year Leadership Experience, Intermediate Leaders Institute, and our Diversity and Inclusion seminar.

What are your future plans? Coming to GVSU, I was not exactly sure where in student affairs I would fit best. I have found through the experience of my assistantship that I have a passion for leadership. It is my hope to continue to work with leadership and service programs and maybe down the road becoming a Dean of Students. I am not exactly sure what the future will hold, but I think I will pursue my doctorate.
 

CSAL Grad Assistant Profile

Jena Doolittle (‘12)
Assistant Apartment Director
Laker Village Apartments

Where did you get your undergraduate degree? Western Illinois University

What was your major? Marketing

How did you first get interested in a career in student affairs? At Western Illinois I was a Resident Assistant for three years where I worked with many individuals in the field who sparked my interest in pursuing graduate school.

Is there a particular reason you chose the CSAL program at GVSU? During my graduate school search I focused on the assistantship, the graduate program, and the university as a whole. When looking at what Grand Valley had to offer, all three provided experiences that I was hoping to gain.

What are you doing in your assistantship? My assistantship is in Housing and Residence Life as the Assistant Apartment Director of Laker Village Apartments. With that I help run a living community of roughly 650 students, supervise 9 Resident Assistants, oversee the front desk operations, and advise Community Council-a student organization that focuses on programming and building community amongst LVA residents.

What are your future plans? Right now, I don't have a specific end goal in mind. I'm focusing on experiencing as many opportunities that grad school can provide me. I know throughout those experiences I'll discover what I truly love about student affairs and where I want to end up.
 

CSAL Alumni Updates

Krista Jensen Malley (‘98) earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at Oakland University. She is now Assistant Dean for Student Services at Oakland University Beaumont School of Medicine.

Patrick Tanner (‘02) is now the Director of Student and Enrollment Services at Penn State York. Patrick and his wife Julie are expecting their third child in August!

Kevin Schwemmin (‘02) left MSU and accepted a position as the Service Learning Coordinator at Georgia Perimeter College outside Atlanta. His position is in the newly created Atlanta Center for Civic Engagement and Service-Learning and he’ll be working with faculty to help them incorporate service-learning into their courses. The college also has some interest in creating an alternative breaks program, so he will likely be working with that as well.

Vicka Bell Robinson (‘02) was elected the Ohio Delegate for GLACUHO at the annual Conference, and Lisa Ortiz (‘02) was elected to President-Elect.

Sara Spiegel (‘03) is now the Associate Dean of Students at DeVry University in Schaumburg.

Carissa Bannan Durfee (‘05) was recently promoted to Director of Student Leadership Programs at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA.

Matt D’Oyly (‘06) has returned to his undergraduate institution to join the Student Affairs staff as the Assistant Director of Wellness, Assistant Director of Summer Conferences, and a Hall Director in the Triad at Otterbein College. During the past five years while a Residential Life Coordinator at Hope College, Matt also served as the Assistant Producing Director/Company Manager at Hope Summer Repertory Theatre in Holland, MI.

Lisa Hartman Lampe (‘06) moved to the Bay Area last year. She started at Stanford University in Student Housing in May then moved to The Center for Teaching and Learning in September.

Ellen Herion (‘07) left DePaul University to accept a position as Assistant Director of Student Conduct at Northwestern University.

Sara Leidner (‘07) is still at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, but has moved from Residential Life to Student Life as the Coordinator of Student Organizations and Involvement.

Laquala Coleman (‘08) has moved to Marietta, GA to take a position as the Coordinator for Special Interest Housing and Greek Life at Southern Polytechnic State University. She is looking forward to the opportunity to work in this brand-new position reporting to Housing and Residence Life as well as Student Life, and to building from the ground up.

Megan Riksen (‘09) has taken a position as the Assistant Director of Career Services at Grand Valley.

Scott Isenga (‘10) is now the Director of Fraternity Life,
University of Arkansas.
 

CSAL Case Study Competition 2011

The annual CSAL Case Study Competition was held February 11, 2011. Judges this year included alumnae Ashley Sustae Clifford, CSAL Class of 2002. Ashley now works at Hanover College as the Associate Director of Leadership and Outreach. Other judges were Leena Karsan, Living Center Director of Calder and Niemeyer, and Eric Klingensmith, Senior Counselor in the GVSU Counseling Center.

Participants this year included Michael Saldana ('12) and Michelle Blank ('11); Meghan Huyghe ('12) and Suzy Herman ('12); Johnathon Rowlette ('11) and Ashley Schulte ('12); and Tim Heacock ('11) and TaNisha Parker ('12). This year’s winners were Meghan Huyghe and Suzy Herman. Each will receive $250.00 to use for professional development activities.
 

Join Us at the National Conferences!

You are invited to attend the Grand Valley State University Alumni & Friends Socials at the following national conferences:

NASPA - Monday, March 14, 2011
9:30 pm - 11:00 pm, Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
Room Franklin 10

ACPA - Monday, March 28, 2011
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm, Baltimore Marriott
Hilton Baltimore - Key 3

Save the Date!

GVSU Homecoming is Saturday, October 29, 2011.  Please join us!