Institutional response to #BlackLivesMatter and anti-Asian hate are shaped by crisis response with strategic plans, rather than structural change and investment in care networks. In this article, we offer our personal narratives to illustrate the possibilities of embodying carework to support student activists and illuminate how we collectively…

Many systems and institutions of post-secondary education narrowly focus on simply trying to balance budgets rather than strategic priorities that lead to transformative change. In doing so, the emphasis remains on preserving current business practices in higher education, which often recycles dysfunctional and low-performing programs and services…

The author draws upon over four decades of experience in student affairs administration to investigate how senior student affairs officers can incorporate intersectionality into comprehensive and targeted decision-making processes, strategic planning, and organizational considerations.

A successful campus sustainability effort catalyzes broad engagement of the campus community and integration of sustainability principles into the academic and operational components of campus life. Although many universities have embraced sustainability as a new core value, others have been more sluggish in adopting sustainability principles to…

Gatekeeper training is one of the most commonly employed methods for identifying and intervening with at-risk students (Davidson and Locke, 2010). Within the context of campus suicide prevention, a gatekeeper is broadly defined as any individual who has the potential to come into contact with at-risk students (Davidson and Locke, 2010). Although…

This chapter reviews the impact of using race caucuses with members of a student affairs leadership team to deepen their capacity to both recognize common dynamics of racism, internalized dominance, and internalized oppression, and explore specific strategies to create greater equity in their organization.

In July 2011, the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees approved a new strategic plan called VolVision for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) campus. VolVision provides the road map for UTK to become a Top 25 university. For more than a year before the board approved the plan, faculty and administrative leaders led focus groups and…

This chapter explains what senior student affairs officers (SSAOs) and those aspiring to the position should know and do in terms of budgeting to make the transition from division to university leadership. Before SSAOs can help lead any university-wide budget process, particularly ones that unfold amid fiscal decline, they must master divisional…

Current realities and practices in higher education have resulted in greater collaboration among campus units. Limited resources have forced departments to share programs, activities, space, and personnel. Branding efforts have prompted consistency in communication and even in practice. Institutional strategic plans reflect increased collaboration…

Values-integrated strategic planning provides the opportunity to clarify professional values as one envisions a future that is exciting and perhaps a bit provocative. This chapter explores the role and importance of student affairs and institutional values in strategic planning. It also looks at the historical roots of the profession and methods…

Planning from a strategic perspective has been a mainstay of organizational management for decades. Founded in the private sector, strategic planning is now embraced by the nonprofit world as a catalyst for sound resource allocation, transformative decision making, and motivating staff. Student affairs professionals who think, plan, and act…

This concluding chapter provides an example of one institution's strategic plan: mission, vision, values, measured accomplishments, and future goals. The plan was written in 2002 with a five-year time line. Thus, it is possible to assess the results of strategic planning in student affairs.

Data-driven planning or evidence-based decision making represents nothing new in its concept. For years, business leaders have claimed they have implemented planning informed by data that have been strategically and systematically gathered. Within higher education and student affairs, there may be less evidence of the actual practice of…

Strong financial management is a strategy for strategic planning success in student affairs. It is crucial that student affairs professionals understand the necessity of linking their strategic planning with their financial management processes. An effective strategic planner needs strong financial management skills to implement the plan over…

Higher education, like the private sector, is searching for innovative ways to respond to demographic shifts, globalization, greater accountability, and new technologies. New organizational models are needed to meet these challenges. In a rapidly changing world, the development of such models can occur through effective strategic analysis and…