By Laurie Braden
As I pen these words—knowing that they won’t make their way to you until the middle of this month—it’s the end of the first week in July and I am sitting on a beach, trying to slow time and my mind down while simultaneously trying to get stuff done. I can’t help but recognize the paradox, and it leads me to think about how we as campus recreation professionals and students are uniquely positioned to help ourselves and our communities intentionally create pace and find balance in our very busy worlds, when we all have multiple things to do and tasks to accomplish.
In the fast-paced world of higher education, it can sometimes be hard to find balance; yet, when it’s most needed, we all seem to achieve some measure of catching stride and (re)setting our pace—even if we must escape to a beach to do so.
The much needed time to clear your mind of clutter and worry, to relax, before beginning to move toward the next action is essential for us to progress toward our bigger goals.
Between the chaotic terms of Spring and Fall, I hope you are finding time to create your own pace in this world of perpetual motion.
Our Association is no different; the NIRSA Summer Leadership Summit was held June 22-26 at the Gaylord Texan, just seven weeks removed from our conference in Nashville and aimed, in great part, to set the Association’s pace. While in Grapevine, the NIRSA Board of Directors, the Member Network, the NIRSA Services Corporation Board of Directors, NIRSA Foundation Board of Directors, NIRSA Championship Series Committee, members of the NIRSA Headquarters staff, and other volunteer leaders were able to continue the dialog and work of NIRSA’s many. I am pleased to share that great work is being accomplished by all of our Association’s entities and that we are setting a sustainable pace to accomplish that great work on behalf our members and “Move Our Values Forward” in anticipation of our 2015 Annual Conference & Recreational Sports Exposition at the Gaylord Texan.
A few highlights of our members’ and volunteer leadership groups’ continued good work that enables NIRSA to move the profession forward includes:
- Ongoing assessment of the eight core competencies of collegiate recreation by the NIRSA Educational Task Force and the Professional Registry Commission who recently updated terminology to reflect relevancy to higher education administration (read more);
- The Nominations & Appointments Committee and the Assembly have worked to seat the 2014-2015 Assembly, which will be convened by At-Large Board of Director Tony Daniels from Prairie View A&M University (read more);
- The Championship Series Committee and the NIRSA Services Corporation are working to engage more members through Institutional Registration opportunities (read more);
- A Task Force has been constituted to articulate the competencies needed for members who serve on the Board of Directors—the outcome of their work will be used by NIRSA’s Nominations & Appointments in this cycle of candidate recruitment;
- Collaboration between the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission and the Championship Series Committee in a special Work Team’s effort to finalize a policy and guidelines for transgender athlete participation in NIRSA Championship Series tournament events;
- New avenues and methods are being explored by the NIRSA Foundation Board to transform and develop financial gifts that fund such valuable work as advancing research for our profession and scholarships that extend professional development opportunities to NIRSA members;
- The Member Network continues to make progress in refining the work of each unique region. As they examine the value and role of state and provincial associations in NIRSA, they continue to develop new methods to engage our members at every level of their careers;
- The Professional Registry Commission has approved a 30-day grace period from the time of Registered Collegiate Recreational Sports Professionals’ expirations, in order to allow a little extra time for members to gather information and submit renewals. On a personal note, I am glad that extension was introduced, as it allowed me to complete my own renewal application to the Professional Registry without lapsing. I am happy to report too, with the online tracking tool and simple renewal process, it is easier than ever to renew—I encourage expiring RCRSP members to renew their commitment to lifelong learning and intentional professional engagement.
So, as I only have a half day left to still enjoy the beautiful white sands of Pensacola beach and the precious down time with my family in our old beach home, the beach—and my own pace—is calling. My hope for all of us in NIRSA is that we never lose touch with the value self-care and the importance of setting your own pace in the whirl of perpetual motion.
