What does student affairs offer?

As professions emerge over time there are a variety of criteria that they seek to fulfill, among them a theory base, standards of practice, ethics statements, and preparation programs. One of the challenges that international educators face in trying to understand student affairs as practiced in North America is that the field has not been conscientious in documenting the founding and core philosophy of the field. This post is offered to at least partially respond to the question of what student affairs has to offer from a historical and philosophical perspective.

My 40+ year career has involved serving as a programmer, educator, and administrator in student affairs - in the U.S.A. and for 7 years in Qatar. Having been mentored by several individuals who were scholar-practitioners during my early career, I came into student affairs believing that it was the responsibility of all programmers/administrators to contribute research, writing, and theorizing to the field that I value so deeply.

If there is any area in which I hope I've made a difference, it is in attempting to be a generative scholar - giving credit to the early pioneers in student affairs and keeping their legacy alive. While serving as Past-President of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) in 1986-87, one of my responsibilities was to convene the Past-Presidents' breakfast at the 1987 annual meeting. I set out to appeal to as many of the Past-Presidents' I could find and with one particular Past-President a primary target - Dr. Esther Lloyd-Jones. I was able to convince her to attend the 1987 ACPA Convention which was the joint convention with the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators commemorating the 50th anniversary of the "Student Personnel Point of View."

The 1987 encounter with Esther started a period of intense correspondence, conversation, and visits that lasted until her death in 1991. I was privileged to be invited to a wonderful celebration of her 90th birthday and the family subsequently requested that I provide the professional eulogy at the memorial service after her death in 1991. The memorial was small and intimate, odd for someone whose legacy has touched so many.

Several articles and my 2007 book, Deeper Learning in Leadership (Jossey-Bass) reference or honor Esther. In addition, I interviewed Esther and distributed a copy of excerpts from our conversation in 1987, "Esther Lloyd-Jones, Perspectives on the Student Personnel Point of View, 1937-1987." I can say without question that completing this videotape and documenting her views in her own words is the contribution to student affairs in which I take the greatest satisfaction.

The history, philosophy, and evolution of student affairs is not studied in detail in most graduate programs in the U.S.A. This troubles me a great deal. The result is that there are a considerable number of other published pieces on the presumed history of student affairs which are inconsistent with what Esther shared. This post provides the first-hand voice of one of, if not the most significant of, our founders.