Everything you ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask. Get to know your new community!

Get in touch with other CSPA grad students over the summer. Helpful JMU offices and services.

Issue 4 From Mark Warner, Vice President for Student Affairs: Greetings and welcome. We are proud to have you as a member of our CSPA program. Unlike many programs in the country, there is a very strong relationship between the academic coursework and the Division of Student Affairs. Not only do our student affairs professionals teach in the program, they practice what they teach in their daily work. You will be exposed to the nation’s best and brightest professionals. I have the good fortune of calling them colleagues.You also are among a select and unique group of individuals. I have always been amazed to see how our CSPA students have put their personal imprints on JMU. I am confident that you will leave not only an imprint, but a lasting legacy. I look forward to meeting you. Welcome. From Zebulon Davenport, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs for Multicultural Awareness and Student Health: I take great pleasure in welcoming you to our campus and to the program. As a JMU CSPA alumnus, I can say that I believe in this program 100 percent. My advice to each of you is to get to know the student affairs professionals at James Madison University and take ownership of our campus. If I can assist you with anything, please do not hesitate to contact me. Good luck and we will see all of you in the Fall. From Keri Wheeler, CSPA 2nd Year: Don't try to do everything... you'll only find yourself burnt out and unable to give the right amount of energy to the task. Enjoy everything you do, for it will pass all too quickly. Before you know it, your first year will be over! From Chandra Lane, CSPA 2nd Year: Welcome everyone! I hope these newsletters have been helpful to you. Beyond what’s already been said, here’s my advice for your first year... At the beginning of the semester, make a big calendar; listing when everything is due and when you have professional development, so that you won’t be caught off-guard. Take time for yourself, and whenever possible, do it off-campus. It puts everything in perspective. Open yourself to new experiences and opportunities- you might be surprised at what you can do. Have group meetings at someone’s apartment, and bring food! It’s more fun this way. Don’t let any assignment overwhelm you- it’s never as big a deal as you think. Have fun! Relax! Enjoy! The time will fly. Meet Your Professors Al Menard: "American Higher Education" Instructor, Fall 2002 Welcome, I congratulate you on being admitted to our College Student Personnel Administration program (CSPA), thank you for accepting our offer of admission and welcome to two years that will most likely be as fulfilling, challenging, positive, and satisfying as any time in your life. One of the joys of working in higher education is looking forward to a new academic year each August. Although the graduation of the class of 2002 has just recently passed, we are already preparing for your arrival on campus. We hope you share our enthusiasm and encourage you to contact us if we can be of assistance or if you would like to just get to know us better. I have the pleasure of facilitating your learning during the Fall Semester, in a course simply entitled American Higher Education. If you are interested in learning more about the course, you can review the course web site at http://cep.jmu.edu/ahrd670. Minor updates will be made to the web site during the summer. Again welcome and if I can be of any assistance, do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Al Menard, Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness Donna Harper and Jim McConnel: "American College Student" Instructors, Fall 2002 The American College Student class will provide you with an opportunity to discover the various developmental changes a college student may experience. We study the different characteristics of college students, the multifaceted nature of the college environment, and the potential changes that occur when these students interact within these environments. The ultimate goal of the course is to help class members understand how student personnel professionals can set specific development goals, and design intentional interventions to achieve those goals. Donna Harper, Assistant to the President Jim McConnel, Director of Residence Life Randy Mitchell, Kristin Radcliffe Muncy, and Rick Larson, "Organization and Administration" Instructors, Spring 2003 To the James Madison University CSPA Class of 2004: It’s our pleasure to welcome you to the College Student Personnel Administration program at JMU. While we’ll have the opportunity to work with many of you outside the classroom, we particularly look forward to spending Tuesday afternoons with all of you during spring semester, 2003. The class we teach is PSYC 650, “Organization and Administration.” We’ll be covering organizational models (not as dry as it might sound), fundamentals of management, and leadership practices related to the student affairs profession. We believe that this class will give you many of the fundamental tools, techniques, and tips that you’ll need to be successful Student Affairs. In the meantime, if there’s anything that any of us can do to assist you in your transition into JMU, please don’t hesitate to contact one – or all – of us. Sincerely, Randy Mitchell, Associate Vice President, Student Affairs – Student Success Kristin Radcliffe Muncy, Associate Director, University and College Centers – Student Organization Services Rick Larson, Associate Vice President, Student Affairs – Student Life To learn more about these and other CSPA Faculty members, check out the Faculty Bio page. Making last minute arrangements? Refer to this page of frequently used JMU phone numbers. If you'll be living in Denton's, get more information here.