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Credit: Nick Romanenko
Gregory Blimling, Rutgers' new vice
president of student affairs, delivers
his keynote speech at the recent Student
Services/Life Conference held last
month. Blimling told staff members that
they are part of a community that
sometimes needs to "hold students'
hands" as they make their way through
college life.
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Student affairs professionals came together at the 8th Annual Student Life/Student Services Conference last month to improve their skills and learn how to better help students through the rigors of college life.
The conference theme, “Enhancing Connections for Student Development,” had more than 300 participants attending sessions Nov. 19 at the Busch Campus Center. They learned about reducing alcohol and drug use on campus, spotting psychologically and emotionally troubled students (see related story, page 2), enhancing the college experience for black and Latino students and protecting student information from identity theft, among myriad topics.
“It was the largest turnout in the past several years,” said Meredith Davis-Johnson, conference chair and special assistant to the vice president of student affairs. “Gregory Blimling’s keynote speech was just what people were looking for as far as leadership from the new vice president of student affairs.”
President Richard L. McCormick introduced Blimling, who started his post in July. “He has literally written the book on student affairs – 12 of them in fact. And they are read by professionals like you all across the country,” McCormick said.
Blimling gave a brief history of the reform movement in higher education, starting with the 1983 Reagan-era report “A Nation at Risk,” which claimed that America’s schools were not preparing students and other countries were making advances.
That report was followed by others, Blimling said, and from those grew higher educational management theories such as Total Quality Management, Continuous Quality Improvement, re-engineering and benchmarking.
But the concepts didn’t work. “Most attempts at organizational reform fail,” Blimling said, calling some of the theories management fads. Instead, he said student affairs professionals should look to networks – professional specialty associations, such as the Association of Fraternity Advisors – and communities within Rutgers. Those groups are best prepared to define their own best practices, he said.
Student affairs and student services personnel should not strive to satisfy every need of individual students, Blimling said. “I don’t see students as customers,” he said. “They’re learners. They don’t get to define everything we do. It’s a dialogue.”
One of the purposes of student affairs professionals is to engage students in active learning. For example, “I could describe to you what it’s like to go bungee jumping ... that’s not the same as doing it.” Similarly, a student can be told how to make decisions, prioritize time and be a good listener, but student government gives them an opportunity to do all of those things. “Student government is not just about soliciting students’ opinion of the university,” Blimling said. “It’s about students having an opportunity to be engaged in a meaningful exercise that has functionally transferable skills.”
Student affairs specialists, Blimling said, should be aware of some of the positive influences of education outcomes: faculty interaction, discussion of racial and ethnic issues, tutoring other students, an altruistic student body and socializing within a diverse community. “Rutgers is fortunate to have such a diverse student community,” he added.
Some behaviors that impede a successful college education are watching too much television, living at home with parents and commuting to college, being taught by teaching assistants, having a full-time job and attending a large institution.
Blimling shared a story about his own daughter, who attended a progressive high school. By the time she returned from her first semester at a conservative university, she was wearing pearls and sweaters. That showed how easily students are absorbed by their peer groups. It’s a challenging task to make sure that they navigate the new complex collegiate world and make it out successfully.
“So often what we do is we put students on one side of a bridge and we’re standing on the other saying ‘Hey, come over here, we’ll show you how to get educated.’ We need to hold students’ hands across that bridge,” Blimling said. “Some students fall off that bridge.”
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