Our Programs, Ourselves: Thinking About "The Next Level" and What's Possible My impression, based on my own situation and what I've been hearing from NAFA friends, is that many of us are looking ahead with both excitement and concern as our programs mature. We've put much effort into activities that help students compete for (and sometimes win) major awards-and we've figured out how to make a case for "the benefits of the process" if they don't. We're gratified by individual and institutional results, as we've sent our students off to the best universities in the world, and now some of them are returning as distinguished alumni and donors to the cause. We've learned to think like faculty members, even if we are "just" staff/administrators, or we've mastered the nuts and bolts of the bureaucracy, even if we are tenured and need to work on our research. Sometimes we even embrace the jargon of those whose experiences often neatly reflect our own: that would be athletic coaches, as in, "this victory was a team effort" (when the news is good), or "no, Mr. President, things didn't work so well this year, but we intend to get back on the winning track next year" (when the news isn't so good!). My point is our programs, whatever they're called and wherever they're placed in the organizational structure, have been defined by the excitement of the new for the last 10 years (reflected impressively by NAFA growth), and some of us might not know what to do next-especially if some of the modest goals for participation and "results" are behind us. And if we don't do something, a perilous blend of uncertainty and nostalgia could paralyze us, unless we adapt to changing realities that are typical of mainstream administration. How familiar is this to you? Now you're part of the institution's long range planning. Instead of working solely with your "squad" of 20-30 students in relative isolation, you spend some time on search committees (can there be anything more mainstream than that?). Your admissions/recruiting people are "interested in upgrading the quality of applicants," so now you travel regularly for speeches at top "feeder schools." And the fund-raising-where did that come from, after years of watching that function from afar? Now Foundation representatives want you to come to dinner because "that kid who nearly got the Truman was from a county where we can make some major inroads." And if that's not enough, "if we do this right, we can endow your office so the tradition will continue after you're gone." (You hope they mean retirement, and not how we feel every year during the spring rush when we wonder about our longevity, literally!) But these modifications to our programs aren't going to go away, and should be considered "good news." Whether you are at a point where you've had success and change is inevitable, or expect to arrive there soon, there is much to think about, for decisions we make now will affect our careers, and more importantly, our interactions with students and colleagues. Some of them are even exciting to anticipate, as is the nature of growth in any enterprise, and some are alarming to contemplate, as is. . . yes, the nature of growth in any enterprise. A brief interlude, and a reference to one of our heroes and NAFA's effect on us all . . . . I like to think I had a Nancy Twiss "moment" recently, thanks to her example we all treasure and NAFA teamwork we all enjoy. A friend in Arkansas called to recommend OSU recruit an acquaintance of his; soon I made email contact with the prospect, a high school senior, and sent him all the material I could find. Immediately he wrote back that he appreciated the attention, but intended to go to either Baylor or Arkansas. I did what I'm sure all of you would have done, which is to notify Suzanne and Betsy, who just as promptly responded they had the young man in their sights, wanted to meet him, and I felt glad for him and the terrific experience he will surely enjoy in Waco or Fayetteville. If that's not enough to illustrate the benefits of program growth and our new status, allow me to confide that I just returned from Cambridge as the advance planner for a summer program on Darwin and the History of Science at Magdalene College, where 20 of our best young people will have the a dream trip of a lifetime. What could be better than that? And tomorrow I'm bringing NAFA friend and founding father Tony Lisska to our campus for a weekend seminar and consultation with our students. Growth, for all its mysteries, looks pretty good when your students are benefiting from such opportunities never dreamed of just years ago-and both of the above resulted from countless hours of new responsibilities for our office, far different from anything we could have anticipated. But yet, I'm little confused, and sometimes weary, I admit-like all of you. I don't always suggest to walk-ins any more that we go have a cup of coffee to discuss goals, even when they find me in the office. And my literature class I teach every fall to keep me focused and alert-that's got to go for a while, until the smoke clears and I can perform class duties comfortably, unafraid of the grading and preparation time I used to perform after dinner (eyes wide shut, mostly, I confess). The reason: I've decided I need and want to be available for prospective donors and students, in order to take the program to the "next level" (there's that coaching terminology creeping in again). This is not a complaint, I assure you-just an attempt to sort things out. We NAFAns have thrived from an enterprise that was unknown in most places as little as twenty years ago. Quick-name me five people on your campus you'd want to trade places with (careful-no salary considerations allowed!). Hard to do, isn't it? Or look at it another way: how many colleagues have stopped you at some point to say "I'd love to have your job-all those top kids?" More than likely, you can stop at twenty. We can be grateful, in other words, and there's nothing wrong with our schools expecting more of the same from us, as well as more that's different. But how to formalize it, save what we enjoyed from the past, and plan for the future, is harder and scarier. Here's what I'm trying to do, and while we're all in totally different situations, I predict the "bottom line" (horrible phrase, isn't it) is pretty much the same. First, I'm going to see if I can't become better delegating certain functions (admit it NAFAns, who of you really trusts someone else to do the last proofing on an application? It's not in our nature, is it? We can, and we will, "do it all."). I'm going to give myself a couple of years to embrace the new assignments, such as fund-raising, recruiting, program planning (undergraduate research is really taking off here; I want to be involved). I'm going to plead my case every chance I get that we need continuity, and that faculty member so-and-so would love to try to learn features of this job, half time, and see what happens. I'm going to get better with the technology including not only the obvious but erasing several years of emails, where several of you are immortalized from before Chicago, I'm embarrassed to say). I hope I'm not naive to think by so doing I can acquire information on students that I need more efficiently, and still be available for those personal consultations that are the keys to all our happiness and success. I am, in other words, determined to stay fresh, and to "pick my spots." (Note to self-do that article on sports metaphors and the lives of NAFAns; it should be a "slam dunk"). So much for thinking out loud. I suppose the only other advice I can give if any of this sounds familiar is that you try to stay fit. You're going to need your health in this frantic and complex world of fellowships advising, which only becomes more so every day. By the way, I think it's safe to say that you're not getting any younger, in spite of what you may hope or have been told by some NAFA friend. Better yet-sign up for those NAFA regional conferences I've read about; what could be more refreshing and helpful than that, if new challenges are coming your way? Bob Graalman, Oklahoma State University NAFA Electronic Bulletin Board Nears April Launch Thanks to the work of our web designer, Tom Nagel, and to the input of a number of NAFA members, the NAFA electronic bulletin board will be ready to launch in early April. This project grows out of a number of conversations with one common thread: as wonderful as the NAFA email list is for raising and addressing immediate questions, we also need a more organized way to share and archive ideas and documents. Consequently, we have structured the bulletin board to fulfill both of these important functions. It will provide an alternative, more structured forum for discussion of matters of long-term interest and it will provide an archive for materials developed or submitted by NAFA members. The Discussion section of the bulletin board is divided into two categories: discussions of particular fellowships and discussions of particular topics. When you visit the site, you will find a number of topics already proposed and a number of fellowships already listed. These topics were drawn from the perennial discussion topics raised at NAFA conferences and on the website, but it is not an exhaustive list. Members are invited to introduce new topics, raise new questions within established topics, and respond to the queries they find on a topic of interest. Some of these discussions have begun (at least as an indication of how this forum can be used and useful), but most await the participation of the NAFA membership to take off. I have asked NAFA officers and session leaders at the Denver conference to help build up the content of the bulletin board during the month of March, before its launch with the full membership so that it will have obvious value from the start. I also expect that the bulletin board will become a useful resource for recording and extending the discussions begun at future NAFA conferences. But one of the chief ways I see the bulletin board being used is as a place to gather and organize responses from queries to the email list. If each person who initiates a question of some lasting value on the email list will take a moment to gather the responses and post them to the bulletin board, the board will become the repository of our collective wisdom. Imagine having, in one easily accessible and searchable place, the collected responses to such recent queries as what kinds of campus events we organize to honor scholarship recipients or how we are responding to the challenges administering campus competitions for the Jack Kent Cooke. The other principal function of the bulletin board is as an archive of documents: handouts, flyers, forms, information packets, and such that we have found helpful and are willing to share with the membership. Thus it can be an ongoing materials exchange. As with Discussions, you will find the Documents section of the bulletin board divided into two headings: Documents by Fellowship and Documents by Audience. Documents by Fellowship will be a handy place for funding agencies to place their annual information packets, as well as for members in general to post fellowship-specific material they have developed. The category Documents by Audience is further divided into documents For Faculty, For Students, For Committee Members, For Administration, and For the Community at Large. As with the topics in the Discussion section, some subcategories within these headings have already been established (especially different kinds of documents for students and committee members) and some documents have already been posted to the board. But here too, the bulletin board is very much in its infancy. It will always be a work in progress, but it will become more and more useful as members post materials that they have found useful in their own offices. Tom Nagel has done an excellent job of making the bulletin board easy to navigate. As well as having a clean design that highlights the major divisions of the site, there are helpful outlines of topics and principal kinds of documents. It is also very easy to post material to the board, and Tom has provided a detailed "Help" function to make it even easier to use. Members will receive an email with a link to the bulletin board when a new topic or new document is posted, so it will be easy to keep track of (or ignore) new developments. And, with your suggestions, Tom and I will continue to trouble-shoot and refine the site to make it as useful and user-friendly as possible. I want to take this opportunity to thank Tom for his work in taking my rough sketches and realizing them so effectively. I also want to thank Suzanne McCray and the NAFA board for their encouragement to pursue this project and to thank all of the NAFA members I have called upon to help with their suggestions and contributions leading up to the launch of the board in early April. I am very much looking forward this event. But even more, I look forward to participating with other NAFA members in using the bulletin board to build an on-going, self-organizing omnium gatherum of out best practices, experience, and knowledge. Mark Bauer, Yale University Register Now for Summer 2004 NAFA Regional Workshops You can now officially register, and volunteer for the NAFA summer 2004 workshops. Our three regional sites are: Kansas City, MO: Thursday, July 29 and Friday, July 30. Linna Place, University of Missouri and Kansas City. Contact: placel@umkc.edu Tacoma, WA: Friday, June 18 and Saturday, June 19. Sharon Chambers-Gordon, University of Puget Sound. Contact: scgordon@ups.edu Atlanta, GA: Thursday, July 8 and Friday, July 9. Joanne Brzinski, Emory University. Contact: poljb@emory.edu Linna, Sharon, and Joanne are in the process of building their teams for the workshops, so if you have ideas to share and are interested in being part of a workshop team, please contact them directly. For more information and to register for a workshop, go to http://www.nafadvisors.org/calendar.htm We hope you will be able to attend! Beth Powers, University of Illinois at Chicago NAFA Trip to England and Ireland Another exciting and informative trip to the British Isles is being planned for NAFA members! (NB: Some arrangements are still tentative and subject to change. The dates in each city are firm.) England Days 1 through 4, May 29-June 2: Four days in and around London: Introduction to UK higher education and to London, British Council, Association of Commonwealth Universities, visits to University of London constituent campuses. Day 5, June 2: University of Cambridge. Days 6 and 7, June 3 and 4: University of Oxford, University of Warwick. Theatre performance in Stratford. Day 8, June 5: University of Manchester. Ireland Days 9 and 10, June 6 and 7: Arrive Belfast; University of Ulster/Coleraine. Tour of Giants' Causeway. Days 11 and 12, June 8 and 9: Queens University Belfast, travel to Dublin, visit University College Dublin and Trinity University. Days 13 and 14, June 10-12: Dublin City University, travel to Galway, visit National University of Ireland. If you haven't signed up yet, one or two slots may still be available. Approximate costs as follows: England and Ireland, May 29- June 13 20-29 passengers sharing rooms - $2775 per person 30 or more passengers sharing rooms - $2585 per person Single supplement (no roommate) approximately $1195 England only, May 29- June 5 20-29 passengers sharing roooms - $1555 per person 30 passengers + sharing rooms - $1445 per person (Single supplement not yet calculated; contact Babs Baugh for estimate) Ireland only, June 6- June 13 20-29 passengers sharing rooms - $1225 per person 30 passengers + sharing rooms - $1140 per person To check availability call Babs Baugh at 210/687-1015 or toll free 800/638-9896. Sounds good, doesn't it? It will be informative, and also fun, especially if you are there with us! Planning Committee: Paula Goldsmid, Pomona College; Mark Bauer, Yale University; Susan Krauss Whitbourne, University of Massachusetts Amherst
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