Earlier this week, NIRSA joined NASPA and eight other student affairs associations to explore how the student affairs profession can make tangible progress in addressing racial justice on American college campuses as part of the Student Affairs Commitment to Racial Justice: Day of Action.
NIRSA contributors
The day started with a welcome from the executive leaders of ten student affairs associations, including NIRSA Executive Director Pam Watts, CAE. After brief introductions, acknowledgements of native lands, and general welcomes, the day of action progressed with individual association’s hosting panel conversations on topics like research and scholarship, pathways to leadership, student affairs structures that reinforce “white-dominant” modalities, graduate preparation programs and curriculum, burnout and racial battle fatigue for new and mid-level Student Affairs professionals, among many others.
For the thirty-minute segment focused on the campus recreation profession, Pam facilitated focused discussion with NIRSA President David Davenport, Director of Recreation at Austin Peay State University, Dr. Augustus Hallmon, Assistant Professor at Northwest Missouri State University and member of NIRSA’s Research and Assessment Committee and the NIRSA History Task Force, and A’naja Newsome, Assistant Director of Fitness and Wellness at the University of South Florida.
Additional contributors
The day of action was facilitated by NASPA and—in addition to NIRSA’s contribution—included Facebook Live broadcasts from ACPA, ACHA, ACUHO-I, ACUI, ASCA, NACA, NACE, NASPA, and NODA. If you missed the August 12 event, you can explore any of the breakout sessions and the capstone panel on combating racism in student affairs, hosted by leaders from NASPA and ACPA, from the NASPA website.
- For more information, contact NIRSA Headquarters.
