Guest post from Small College Division Chair - Dr. Scott Strawn

Dear Colleagues:

Hello! I am honored to serve as the NASPA Region IV-West representative for the Small Colleges and Universities Division. Each regional representative has agreed to spearhead a regional leadership team representing the small colleges and universities in our area. Some of the activities this group might consider include:

·  Opportunities to promote on-going professional development activities, networking opportunities, programs and/or workshops or other partnerships

·  Assess regional needs and concerns of SC&U regional members and work with regional and national leadership to address these concerns

·  Promote opportunities for submitting articles to regional and national electronic sites/newsletters

·  Submit names for regional/national recognition

·  Develop partnerships between institutions to encourage submission of articles/presentations specific to SC&U

The leadership team might consist of 3 to 5 individuals. They do not necessarily need to be SSAO’s. If you or one of your staff are interested in participating in this leadership team, please submit their names and contact information to me at sstrawn@snu.edu. Depending on the interests and availability of the group, I do not anticipate this will involve a large time commitment. 

I am also very excited to announce the first ever Region IV-West SC&U division reception to take place as a part of the 2011 NASPA IV-West Regional conference in Denver, CO. This will be a great time of networking and is a part of a simply fantastic conference being scheduled to take place November 1-3, 2011. I highly encourage you to attend...I alwasy find myself re-energized and renewed from the connections and relationships these types of smaller conferences afford. Registration is currently open at: http://naspa.org/regions/regioniv-w/2011conference/registration.cfm

Next, I am attaching an announcement for a national dial-in conference for schools with enrollment under 1,000. This is an hour-long opportunity for small schools to share ideas on how to maximize their resources. This is the first dial-in conference specific to schools of this size and should be an exciting exchange and opportunity to network nationally with other NAPSA members in this category.

Finally, this is also a reminder to encourage you and your staff to consider program submissions for the 2012 NASPA Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. I am including a link for a free workshop that will assist staff in preparing for this opportunity.

HOW TO SUBMIT A PROGRAM FREE WEBINAR!
AUGUST 10, 2011
2:00 - 3:00 P.M. EDT

Join your colleagues on Wednesday, August 10, 2011, from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT, for an interactive webinar on how to submit a program proposal for the 2012 NASPA Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.  The NASPA Program Chair, Wendy Endress, and the Pre-Conference Workshop Chair, Juan Guardia, will discuss the theme of "Ignite Leadership, Influence Change."  Stephanie Gordon and Jennifer Vaseleck from the NASPA Office will walk through the submission process online. So you can easily navigate the 2012 NASPA Program Submission and Reviewer Process. The deadline for program submissions is September 2^nd.  See: http://www.naspa.org/conf/cfp/default.cfm

The link for the webinar is:  http://www.naspa.org/conf/cfp/default.cfm

I look forward to hearing from you!

--
Scott W. Strawn, Ed.D.
Vice President for Student Development
Southern Nazarene University

405-491-6336
sstrawn@snu.edu