Sandy Hook Elementary

It is sadly ironic that I was at my daughter's elementary school yesterday to have Christmas lunch with her when I first saw the news about a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School come across the crawler on the lobby television. At that moment 18 students were reported dead. My heart seized, but I immediately and very deliberately made the decision to put all thoughts of this unfolding tragedy aside so that I could be present for my daughter, enjoy her company, and give her my full attention during her special luncheon.

Now 24 hours later, the devastation and grief of this monumental tragedy has sunk into mine and the nation's consciousness. This morning at the University of South Alabama we celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating students. Later today we will applaud them as they receive their diplomas and begin or continue careers as educators. No doubt this ordinarily happy occasion for the graduates and their families will be marked by sadness. It is my sincere wish that these students never have to witness such events as the community of Sandy Hook, Connecticut, has endured. It is my hope that in spite of this tragedy, or perhaps because of it, these graduates will be more determined than ever to use their talents and passion to educate and care for others.

Bloggers Wanted!

"StudentAffairs.com is looking for a couple of graduate students to write our weekly blog for the 2013 Student Affairs Job Hunt. This will be our 8th year of, to paraphrase Jim McKay's introduction to ABC's long-running Wide World of Sports, "Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of job hunt experiences... the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... the human drama of the job hunt competition."

Interested graduate students should submit one writing sample that would be in line with what would appear on the Job Hunt Blog. Please do not submit a writing sample from a course you have taken or from a personal blog. The deadline to submit a sample to Stuart Brown at Stuart@StudentAffairs.com is Friday, January 4, 2013. The blog will begin the first week of January 7, 2013.

There is a small stipend and the blog will be anonymous to give students more freedom in writing about their experiences. We am looking for individuals that can write interesting, fun, enlightening, edgy, eye-opening blogs. This would take someone who has the time to write a blog, is not shy, and who is a good, creative writer. Students can get an idea of what we am looking for by going to our blog page and perusing the previous Student Affairs Job Hunt blogs."

Grad Student Manuscript Competition

A great opportunity to get published and earn some cash!

The Journal of Technology in Student Affairs, a forum for the student affairs generalists on issues relating to student affairs and technology, announces the first Graduate Student Manuscript Competition. Three prizes will be awarded to graduate students (registered for a minimum of six credits for Spring 2013): 1st Place of $250.00 2nd Place of $200.00 3rd Place of $100.00 For specific information about the types of manuscripts that should be considered as well as length, go to our ejournal. The manuscript submission deadline is February 15, 2013. For further information and to submit contact Stuart Brown at Stuart@StudentAffairs.com.

Case Study Competition

StudentAffairs.com is now accepting registrations for the 12th Annual Virtual Case Study Competition for Masters level students in student personnel administration, higher education, or counseling programs. Information on registering teams, rules and prizes is available at the Virtual Case Study website.

  Registration is free and prizes will be awarded to the top three teams.

• 1st Place: $150.00 to each team member
• 2nd Place: $100.00 to each team member
• 3rd Place: $50.00 to each team member

The registration deadline is Friday, January 25, 2013. The competition will take place from January 28 - February 22, 2013. There is no limit on the number of teams per graduate program that can enter. A write-up of winners along with links to each team project will be published in the Spring 2013 e-journal, The Journal of Technology in Student Affairs.

 

***Students, you have all engaged in case study analyis if you've taken my "Student in Higher Education" or "Principles of School Leadership" course. I have faith that you all would do well in such a competition. I'm happy to help as necessary/allowable if some of you decide to form a team. What a great addition to a resume if you should place in the competition! - Peggy

Analyzing Higher Ed (and Themselves)

An overview from "Inside Higher Ed" of the ASHE conference:

One area that's near (if not dear) to the hearts of all students and administrators...

Sara Goldrick-Rab, an associate professor of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, discussed the role that she and other scholars who study federal financial aid must play in analyzing what’s working (and, importantly, admitting what’s not) in a higher ed financing system that has student debt soaring.

Inside Higher Ed
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/11/19/higher-ed-researchers-discuss-key-issues-and-their-own-work

Guidelines for Master's Programs in Higher Ed

I got myself elected as secretary of the CAHEP (Council for the Advancement of Higher Ed Programs) council of ASHE. I'm looking forward to more involvement in this association which has been my go-to resource for so many of the things I do and teach. The CAHEP council has proposed guidelines for master's programs in higher ed. Interesting discussions centered around: guidelines are not the same as standards; standards are the next inevitable step; if we don't do this ourselves someone else will do it to us; all programs are not created equal/how can we apply the same guidelines across the board, etc. See the link below to view the guidelines for yourself.

http://www.ashe.ws/images/CAHEPLeadershipProgramGuidelines.pdf

Hoover Dam

Pre-conference activity: touring Hoover Dam! In Las Vegas for the Association for the Study of Higher Education conference. www.ashe.ws