A Publication for UNI Postsecondary Education Alumni,
Working Professionals and Students
The New PSE Partnership
Inside this issue:
PSE Partnership
Committee
1-2
Alumni Spotlight 3
Paul C. Kelso
4
Award Recipient
New President of 5
ISPA
A Note From Dr.
Waggoner
A Challenge
5-6
6
Spring/Summer
2011 PSE Grads 7
May 2011
Volume 9
In summer 2010, a new
standing committee of the
Division of Student Affairs
was created: The Postsecondary Education Partnership Committee (PSEPC).
This collaboration was
conceived when Dr. Terry
Hogan, Vice President for
Student Affairs, and Dr.
Michael Waggoner, professor and program chair of
the Postsecondary Education: Student Affairs graduate program, met to discuss the potential for mutual support. PSEPC‟s mission is to “seek out opportunities to develop and coordinate mutually beneficial programs, activities
and co-curricular experiences that enrich both units
as approved by the Vice
President for Student Affairs and the PSE program
chair.” The members of
the committee include Bob
Frederick, Director of Career Services (Chair); Lyn
Redington, Department of
Residence; Lisa Kratz,
Maucker Union; Melissa
Payne, Vice President‟s
office; Tim Bakula, Financial Aid; Sarah Goblirsch,
Career Services; Jenny
Connolly, Admissions;
Jennifer Suchan, Registrar;
Mark Rowe, Wellness and
Recreation Service; and
Lisa Jicinsky, Department
of Residence.
Since its inception, the
PSEPC has been active in
realizing its mission statement. The committee has
already put on the PSE
Preview Day that took
place last fall, this semester‟s PSE:SA Interview
Day, and instated a mentoring program for
PSE:SA graduate students.
Preview Day
The PSE:SA Preview
Day was held on October15, 2010. Prospective
students interested in the
Student Affairs program
were invited to campus to
get a more in-depth look
at UNI‟s Student Affairs
graduate program. 18
prospective students attended the event—an impressive first year turnout.
Students arrived between
8 and 9 a.m. and spent the
morning learning about
the admission process,
funding and assistantships, housing and the
Cedar Falls community,
as well as the structure of
the graduate program itself. Afterwards, they
participated in an interactive panel composed of
current and former students and faculty in the
PSE program, and also had
the option of a campus tour.
These prospective students
later completed a satisfaction survey to which many
responded positively. They
were very impressed with
the program, felt that they
had gained a better understanding of what UNI‟s PSE
program has to offer, and
provided a few great suggestions on how the program could be improved the
following year.
Interview Day
The PSEPC was also in
charge of this year‟s Interview Day and Decision Day,
which took place on February 28th and March 2nd, respectively. Students who
were admitted into the PSE:
SA program were invited to
participate, and registered
via an online registration
form. The online registration form included an area
for students to indicate
which Graduate Assistantship positions they were
interested in applying for.
From there, resumes and
cover letters were sent to the
corresponding providers for
review. If a department was
interested in interviewing a
candidate, they called them
and arranged a time during
Interview Day.
Page 2
Panther P.A.W.S.
PSE Partnership Continued
Following Interview Day, both
the students and providers were
asked to rank order their preference of employer and employee.
If a student ranked a department
as their first choice, and a department ranked the same student as
their first choice, an automatic
match was created; as such, that
student would be extended the
position. The remaining position
matches continued in a
similar fashion with every effort being made to
place a student in a department that they ranked
highly, as well as to pair
a department with one of
their top candidates. Decision Day was only
open to providers, and at
the conclusion of the
meeting, providers were
welcome to call their
candidate to extend an
offer.
Decision Day followed Interview Day,
and was akin to a Greek
bid-matching process. Following
Interview Day, both the students
and providers were asked to rank
order their preference of employer and employee. If a student
ranked a department as their first
choice, and a department ranked
the same student as their first
choice, an automatic match was
created; as such, that student
would be extended the position.
The remaining position matches
continued in a similar fashion
with every effort being made to
place a student in a department
that they ranked highly, as well
as to pair a department with one
of their top candidates. Decision
Day was only open to providers,
and at the conclusion of the meeting, providers were welcome to
call their candidate to extend an
offer.
In all, seventeen students and
eleven providers participated in
Interview Day with a total of
twenty Graduate Assistantship
positions available. Of the seventeen students who participated,
acquainted with the division, the
university and the community.”
Sponsors provided their student
with a tour of their department,
introduced them to colleagues,
shared the nature of their work,
offered guidance and assisted
their student in getting engaged
with the community of UNI. Additionally, sponsors were encouraged to invite their student to a
department staff meeting, offer them a chance to job shadow and take them along to the
Student Affairs division
meeting. This year‟s sponsors and their students were:
Deb McConahie - Emily Borcherding
Bob Frederick - Malcolm Thomas
Jenny Connolly - Leah King
Libby Vanderwall - Amy Kollasch
Jennifer Suchan - Jackie McAndrew
Sarah Goblirsch - Monica Johnson
Tim Bakula - Keniese Evans
Matt Nuese - Mary Stivers
Melissa Payne - Kenneth Reid
eleven received offers from providers: eight students received an
offer from the provider they
ranked first, one received an offer
from the provider they ranked
second, and two received offers
from providers they ranked third.
Eight out of the eleven offers
were accepted; one student decided to attend another institution,
and two others, who had initially
accepted, later declined due to
other opportunities.
Mentoring Program
The mentoring program, titled
the PSEPC Sponsorship Program,
was designed to, “assist new
graduate students in the student
affairs program with getting
When asked about the results
of the sponsorship program,
director Bob Frederick had this to
say: “Ultimately, the sponsor program was a success because the
student had an advocate in addition to peers and colleagues. We
will be continuing this program
in the future!”
All three of the events put on
by the PSEPC this year have been
tremendously successful and
have provided UNI‟s Postsecondary Education graduate students
with many new and exciting
opportunities. We look forward
to what this organization has in
store for the future.
Spring 2011, Volume 9
Page 3
Panther P.A.W.S.
Page 3
Alumni Spotlight: Tammy Taylor
Tammy Taylor, a fall
1996 graduate of the Student
Affairs Master‟s program,
came to UNI in 1990 to receive
an undergraduate degree in
Public Relations and Communications. She became interested in Student affairs after
working for the UNI Admissions Office and the UNI Foundation. She finally decided to
enter the Student Affairs Master‟s program after meeting
with several Student Affairs
faculty members, a decision
that has lead to a prolific and
held a myriad of positions at
UNI and at other institutions.
She had worked in the UNI
Admissions Office, the UNI
Development Office, the UNI
Advising Office, the UNI
Housing Office, Hawkeye
Community College Admissions and Advising Offices,
and Wartburg‟s Alumni Relations Office. Her depth of
involvement was inspired by
advice from one of her faculty
mentors, Dr. Keig, and was in-
strumental in solidifying that
she was passionate about student affairs.
This passion and breadth of
work experience landed her a
job as an Admissions Representative/Student Services
Specialist at the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee Department of Recruitment and Outreach. She now works for
UWM‟s School of Architecture and Urban Planning as
the Assistant Dean/Program
Manager for Undergraduate
Affairs. Tammy spoke quite
highly of her new position,
commenting that, “[I like] the
sense of community here and
the culture. We are the 2nd
smallest school on campus [so]
I have close contact with faculty, staff and students. I have
the opportunity to collaborate
with faculty and students on a
wide variety of projects.” This
position has not only been enjoyable, but fulfilling for her as
well. She finds her office‟s holistic approach to student development, the close contact with
alumni, the office‟s fast paced
environment, and the amazing
work ethic of the students
greatly rewarding.
Other organizations that
Tammy has been, or currently
is a part of include: the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), Bachelor of
Science; Architectural Studies
(BSAS) Committee, the Grafton Education Foundation, the
America Reads Program, the
All University Campaign (CoChair) and the Chancellor‟s
Auction (Co-Chair). Additionally, she has served as a Senator
in the UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning,
held various PTA leadership
roles and has served as a Sunday school teacher.
Reflecting on her past experiences at UNI, Tammy had this
to share: “Homecoming was
always a special time for me at
UNI! I loved the tradition of
Campanile during Homecoming. I met so many wonderful
friends, professors and professionals during my time at UNI.
UNI will always hold a special
place in my heart. I hope to
visit soon!” She also imparted
some advice for current
Postsecondary Education: Student Affairs graduate students:
“I would encourage students to
follow their passions and to try
and seek out private, public and
Community college experiences (internships) while in
school.”
Panther P.A.W.S.
Page 4
2011 Paul C. Kelso Award Recipient:
Marissa Whitney
Each year the collective
Postsecondary Education:
Student Affairs faculty identify
a recipient for the Paul C. Kelso Award. Dr. Paul C. Kelso
started the first
counseling program for students at Iowa State Teachers
College in 1949 and served as
Director of Student Counseling
Services for almost 30 years.
His family established this
scholarship award in 1987 to
be awarded to students who
have exhibited academic
excellence and promise for
success in the field of higher
education student affairs.
This year‟s winner is
Marissa Whitney, a first year
student in the Postsecondary
Education: Student Affairs
Master‟s degree program.
Although she received her undergraduate degree in
psychology, Marissa has
always been actively involved
in helping students with their
dreams. She began working in
the Registrar‟s Office during
her first semester of freshman
year and has also held
internships in the Office of
Admissions, Career Services
and the Student Financial Aid
office. These initial
experiences played a decisive
role in her decision to enter the
field of student affairs: “My
undergraduate experience was
such that I really couldn‟t see
myself in any other profession
by the time I reached my
senior year! It was great to expose myself to a career field I
had no idea even existed and
find that I really had a passion
for this line of work.”
This passion has clearly
continued into her graduate
studies. She is currently working as a graduate assistant in
the Office of the Registrar and
is involved in a practicum in
the Student Services Office at
Allen College in Waterloo.
Moreover, she has helped with
this year‟s PSE: SA Interview
day, attended the AACRAO
conference in Seattle, Washington over Spring Break and
will be working with the Academic Advising office over
the summer. Reflecting on her
past experiences, Marissa noted that she has most enjoyed
getting to know those in this
year‟s cohort, networking
with the other members of the
higher education community
and the professional development opportunities provided
to her by her assistantship.
While Marissa is still unsure as to her future plans, she
is confident that her experiences at UNI have armed her
with everything she will need:
“The people I have met, the
experiences that have been
made available to me, and the
skills I continue to develop
and hone through my assistantship and internship/
practicum will all allow me to
enter an entry-level position
upon graduation next spring
with the knowledge and ability to be successful in this
field.”
Congratulations Marissa!
“My undergraduate
experience was
such that I really couldn‟t see
myself in any
other
profession by
the time I
reached my
senior year!”
Page 5
Panther P.A.W.S.
UNI Alum Erin Swancutt Elected
President of ISPA
Starting in June of this year,
UNI alum Erin Swancutt will take
over as president of the Iowa Student Personnel Association (ISPA).
Erin graduated from the UNI Student Affairs Master‟s program in
2007, and has been working as a
Career Counselor at Simpson College ever since. Her nomination as
president came about after serving
on the planning committee for
ISPA‟s 2010 conference: “…one
of my colleagues was the cocoordinator of the annual conference and asked if I wanted to be
part of the planning committee. I
figured that it would be a great
opportunity to get involved in the
organization and meet people
from across the state and somehow I got hooked! I went from
being on the planning committee
to getting asked to be the cocoordinator of the conference for
2010! From there, I was nominated as president elect.”
Erin has been a member of
ISPA since her days as a graduate student, and she speaks highly of the opportunities that ISPA
has provided, and continues to
provide for her and for all Student affairs professionals:
“This organization has been something that I have really valued as
part of my professional development. I value the work that the colleges and universities are doing in
Iowa and am excited that an organization like ISPA offers the chance
for all of us to share our work and
experiences with each other.”
As president, Erin‟s main goal
is to provide more value for ISPA
members. To achieve her goal,
Erin plans to incorporate senior
student affairs officers back into
the organization, connect the midlevel the new graduate students,
continue the summer drive-in event
that was started last year, cosponsor more events across the
state and utilize technology to help
reach ISPA members.
A Note from Dr. Waggoner
Greetings everyone,
I hope spring arrived where you
are before it did here (actually, it
is only now beginning to feel
like spring). We just graduated
our latest alums this weekend
and they enjoyed a special commemoration of this event as the
First Lady of the United States,
Michelle Obama, was this year‟s
commencement speaker. This
was quite a logistical and security event as all three graduations
combined into one ceremony in
the UNI Dome. We arrived two
hours early and the ceremony
was 2 1/2 hours. Nevertheless, it
was worth it to participate in
such an historic event for UNI.
The First Lady‟s remarks were
excellent in my opinion. The following link will take you to the
May 6, 2010 Commencement.
The First Lady‟s remarks begin
at about 39.5 minutes:
http://live.uni.edu.
It has been a busy year here
as they mostly are. We welcomed the new cohort of 16 students and are transitioning the
first years into the second year.
All the time, our part-timers kept
moving through blending in with
new cohort (those of you going
through on the part-time plan
remember the drill). This was the
first year of our formal
partnership with the student affairs division. See the lead article about this. It was very successful and we‟re already planning for year two activities.
The new cohort is admitted
and, thanks to the expansion of
assistantships made possible by
the student affairs division and
the first Interview Day, most all
incoming full-timers are placed
Page 6
A Note Continued
in a graduate assistantship. We
have an all time high of 22 who
have been admitted and who we
expect to see in the fall (this is
after 4 or 5 withdrawals). Of
course, there may be some unexpected attrition between now and
then, and we do have a waiting
pool if the number dips below 15,
but it appears that this is a pretty
solid number. Once again, we
had around 50 applicants for our
targeted 15 incoming spots. The
quality of the cohort is high and
we look forward to working with
them.
Please check a new feature on
our Postsecondary Education
webpage. We‟ve added a Placement tab on the left side. This
links to a list of our grads and
where they are located: http://
www.uni.edu/coe/departments/
educational-leadership-counseling
-postsecondary-education/
postsecondary-education/placem
Right now, it goes back to the
early 1990s, but we will be going
back and filling in as we learn
something new. If there is something not right about your name or
identification, let us know right
away. We will be continually updating this. We hope to use to this
in alumnae networking and for
prospective students. If there is
an alum whose name is not there
and you know something about
them, please let me know.
It has been a busy year for me
too. In addition to teaching and
program administration, I began
my 11th year as Editor of the peerreviewed journal Religion & Education (www.informaworld.com).
As some of you may know, the
subject of religion and spirituality
in education has been an academic
interest of mine for some time. I
just published a book on that topic
with Routledge Books this spring:
Sacred and Secular Tensions in
Higher Education: Connecting
Parallel Universities. I was also
Panther P.A.W.S.
elected to a three year term (2012
-14) as Chair of the American
Educational Research Association‟s Special Interest Group in
Religion & Education. I am continuing research and writing in
this area this summer.
Please send along any new
information about your life and
work. We received a lot of responses from our query this
spring and will be putting that
together for a special alumni update this summer, so there is still
time to get more information to
us.
I‟m on Facebook (Mike Waggoner) and Twitter
(mdwaggoner), so feel free to
connect. Nobody can have too
many friends.
The best to you this summer,
Mike Waggoner
A Challenge:
If there are two or more PSE alum in your institution, we encourage you to get together for a picture and send it along to us.
We‟ll include it in the next newsletter. There are clusters of grads
in a number of institutions. The largest, of course, is UNI, but there
are others with multiple grads: University of Wisconsin, Madison;
Wartburg College; Grand View University; and Arizona State University to name a few. Our first one to be featured is the University
of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. In this photo is Beth Lobner „06(left),
Residential Programs Staff, and Tammy Taylor ‟96, Assistant
Dean/Manager, School of Architecture and Urban Planning.
Spring/Summer 2011 PSE Grads: Kolby Knupp, Frederico Silva, Meg Ryan,
Brittany Warren, TJ Warren, Steffoni Smith.
A Publication for UNI
Postsecondary
Education Alumni, Working
Professionals and Students
Educational Leadership
and Postsecondary Education
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0604
Postsecondary Education:
Student Affairs
Visit us online at:
Http://uni.edu/coe/elcpe/
postsecondaryed
Phone: (319) 273-2605
Fax: (319) 273-5175
Contact email:
mike.waggoner@uni.edu
Publication Editor:
David Cintel
Email: cinteld@uni.edu
Phone: (660) 349-6066
Visit online at:
Http:uni.edu/coe/elcpe/postsecondaryed/
professionaldevelopment/unisp/
unisa.htm