Unification Update: September 2009  

From Tom Jackson, Jr., ACPA President

ACPA is a wonderful organization that provides enormous opportunity for professional development, scholarship, research, and genuine discussion about issues that impact our students and profession. In an upcoming issue of "Developments" I talk about some of ACPA's outreach and support of our international friends, colleagues, and partners. Over the past five months ACPA has attended CACUSS and CTLPA; and worked with our partners in establishing IASAS. CACUSS is the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services and has been in existence for at least 39 years. They have also been truly supportive of ACPA and representatives regularly attend the ACPA annual convention. Both Greg Roberts and I attended CACUSS this year. CTLPA is the Caribbean Tertiary-Level Personnel Association, which has been in existence for over a decade and was ACPA's first international division. CTLPA now represents several countries within the Caribbean and has chapters in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and Barbados. IASAS is the newly formed International Association of Student Affairs and Services. This representative group includes student affairs associations across the world, including Germany, Philippines, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and the United States. As a friend and partner to these different groups, ACPA is indeed using its strength in serving students and colleagues across the globe.

ACPA and NASPA have also forged a new alliance, that regardless of its outcome, will shape our profession for many years to come. For many years we have wondered why this profession has had two comprehensive organizations. There remain many strong and viable reasons why two organizations are thriving and supporting the efforts of our colleges and students. NASPA is truly a fantastic organization that serves its membership and our profession very well. NASPA also represents the best of all of us nationally when they articulate very strategically the needs of colleges and universities across the United States. I know, I have been an active member for over 22 years. At a recent meeting I attended I recall stating that "NASPA is ACPA and ACPA is NASPA." My point in saying that was simply that for many of us we know NASPA members. They are the persons down the hall, in the next building, or at the campus across town that we interact with often. They are our colleagues and they are our friends.

We are at a time where we must honestly ask ourselves, "What is best for our profession?" The Task Force on the Future of the Profession is and will continue to define much of this needed response over the coming months. Still, the structural infrastructure question remains, should this profession fundamentally support two comprehensive organizations that essentially look and act more alike than apart? Truthfully, despite our subtle differences (which can be likeable), we are very different than our other sister associations, such as student activities, student conduct, or recreational sports (to name a few). We are also very different than Arts & Sciences, Engineering, or other academic discipline specific associations in which we share our campuses with daily. ACPA and NASPA are brothers and sisters.

For the next few months both ACPA and NASPA are doing the unprecedented, we are asking our members to respond to the Midpoint Report from the Task Force on the Future of the Profession. We are also asking members to tell us what they think about ACPA and NASPA unifying. Imagine the best of both associations becoming one. What are your thoughts? I need you to share those with Mike Segawa (NASPA president) and I before November 15, 2009. I ask you to review the Midpoint Report and the joint letter written by both Mike and I. These documents, along with the feedback we have received thus far through our shared email address, are viewable on the ACPA President's blog. If you have comments you may either leave them on the blog (for all to see) or email your thoughts directly to one of the email addresses below:

ourcommonvoice@gmail.com - (read by both Tom and Mike)
msegawa@naspa.org - (read by Mike)
acpaprez@gmail.com - (read by Tom)

These truly are exciting times for your ACPA. Our continued work with our research agenda, our collaborative efforts with faculty, our dynamic work with students, our internal efforts to add meaning to our work, our collaborative work with our sister associations, and our work with our international brothers and sisters are making this a wonderful time for our association. Weeee.