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Investor Newslet terPresidential Update - November 2009By Shelley Errington Nicholson - President 2009-2010 - MCPA

It is fall!! The leaves are on the g r o u n d , there is a crisp snap in the air and at least in central Mas s , we

have already had some snow. The time has flown by and we are now nearing the end of another semester. Once Thanksgiving comes, we know the winter break is not far behind. Thus far this semester MCPA has been very busy. I hope you enjoyed our Drive-In Conference this year. If you missed it, you really missed a good one. Our keynote was Charlie Fey who is Vice President o f S tuden t Af fa i r s a t t he University of Akron and was also the founder and first president of MCPA. He reflected back with us on t he c hanges i n h ighe r education and U.S. culture in the past 60 years and it was quite the journey. We have received evaluation surveys back from conference participants and so far the feedback has been terrific including some great ideas for future Conferences and Coffee Talks.

As we ease into November, we find ourselves ever closer to the ACPA National Convention to be

held in Boston starting on March 20th. We are so excited that Massachusetts is the host state. If you are looking for ways to get invo lved wi th the nat ional convention, just open up the newsletter and take a peek. We are in need of volunteers for many activities and would love to have a huge turnout of MCPA members!

November also brings most of us to the table with friends and family to celebrate the people and things we are grateful for in our lives. This time of year always makes me reflective as I look behind to the successful start of a new semester and look ahead to the coming holiday season and a new calendar year. It does not m a t t e r i f y o u c e l e b r a t e Thanksgiving, or any of the other winter holidays, it always does the hear t good to have some reflective moments and of course good food! This brings me to my last point, FOOD! Those of you who know me know how much I love to eat (sometimes too much!!), but what you may not know is my most recent hobby and that is cooking.

Continued on page 3 of the newsletter.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE 1-PRESIDENTIAL UPDATEAn Update from the current MCPA President.PAGE 2-MCPA AWARDSNominate someone today!-ACPA REGISTRATION OPENEarly Bird Rates End 1/28/2010PAGE 3-COFFEE TALK IILearn about non-traditional students at our next coffee talk - December 4, 2009 9:30AM-12PM at MCPHS Worcester-REVIEW OF COFFEE TALK IDid you miss our first coffee talk? No worries! We have a summary ready for you!PAGE 4-HIDDEN GEMSWe need your help compiling boston facts for Convention!

PAGE 5-MCPA JOINS FACEBOOKWe’ve moved to a fan page! Become a Fan today!-DRIVE-IN WRAP UPOur Summary of the Drive-In Conference from October 23rdPAGE 6-DRIVE-IN WRAP UPRead on about the drive-in-WELCOME NEW MCPA MEMBERSNew to MCPA? Look for your name on this page.

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MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE PERSONNEL ASSOCIATION

THE NEXUS 2009-2010

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NOVEMBER - 2009 FALL ISSUE #2- THE NEXUS - PAGE 2

Registration is now open for the 2010 ACPA Annual Convention in Boston, MA! With the Convention being so

close make sure you take advantage of at least a one day visit to what convention has to offer. Early registration

extends through January 28, 2010 so make sure to get over to http://convention.myacpa.org/registration and

register before rates go up!(It saves $50 on full registration and $30 on one-day). Career Central at Convention(C3)

has also gone live with registration and job postings. Make sure you don’t miss out on this excellent job searching

tool if you will be looking for a position come the spring!

Nominate by:

December 18, 2009

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Continued from page 1 of the newsletter.Wel l , cook i ng m igh t be an exaggeration; perhaps it is more like opening up a package and following instructions. Either way, when I am through my house smells like pumpkin or gingerbread or any of the other wonderful fall scents and I feel a small sense of accomplishment. So as the semester is winding down, if you are looking for a way to de-stress, I encourage you, nay I challenge you to cook up something delicious and share it with friends, family, and colleagues. If you are not culinarily (I think I just made that word up!) inclined maybe you swing by Dunkin Donuts and pick up some pumpkin muffins to share with the office. A small act of thoughtfulness will give you just the boost you need (and others will benefit too!) to get you through to

the end of the semester. Gotta go, pumpkin bread is just about done! Bon appetite!

M C P A  Coffee   Talk  in   Review:  

R e d i s c o v e r i n g   y o u r  strengths!!by Jessica ColwellWhat are you good at? What are things you wish your boss could utilize in you more? How can you use the things you’re good at to be a more effective communicator and worker?

These are just some of the questions and ideas which were covered during MCPA’s first Coffee Talk of

the new year, held at Smith College! Coffee Talks are designed to provide both presentations and informal discussions in just 90 minutes on hot topics in student affairs for both members and non members of MCPA. Coffee Talks are a great way to revitalize and reintroduce new ideas in your every day practice- and that’s what I found after attending the session on Rediscovering your strengths, presented by Jodie Castanza.

Although I had vaguely heard of the term Strengths Psychology through a colleague, I had never put much thought or value to the idea. However, after attending this session I now think more often on how I can best put my strengths into everyday practice. Strengths psychology is based on the idea of focusing people’s energies on what they do well instead of trying to correct their own weaknesses and shortcomings. Continued on Page 4 of the Newsletter

PANELISTS:Dean Joan Dolamore - WITMaureen Dischino- WITRachel Newman - MCPHSREGISTRATION:All MCPA Members, non-members and Executive Board members should complete the registration form at www.mymcpa.net COST:Free for MCPA Paid Members$5.00 for non-membersPlease bring cash or check to program. Exact change appreciated.DESCRIPTION:This experienced panel will lead a discussion about non traditional students and their role in the college or univerity community. If you would like to learn more about serving non-traditional students come to this Coffee Talk! December 4th. For full directions, registration information and more details please visit www.mymcpa.net

SEPTEMBER - 2009 FALL ISSUE - THE NEXUS - PAGE 2NOVEMBER - 2009 FALL ISSUE #2 - THE NEXUS - PAGE 3

Prep for the coffee talk!

Click below to watch the Today show discussion:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/32981877

MCPA Coffee Talk II: Non-Traditional Students - December 4 - 9:30AM-12PMMCPHS Worcester Campus

VISIT US ONLINE TODAY: http://www.mymcpa.net/

Continued from Page 3 of The Newsletter

Supporters of this concept also believe people who focus on their strengths have drastically better outlook on life and their work. According to author of Strengths Finder 2.0 Tom Rath, people who have the opportunity to focus on their strengths everyday are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general (iii).

Before attending the Coffee Talk, attendees were encouraged to buy the Strengths Finder 2.0 book by Tom Rath (2007). This book included an online assessment tool, which attendees were encouraged to take and bring to the coffee talk. After taking this assessment tool, you are provided with your top five strengths based from 34

overall themes, as defined by Strengths Finder 2.0 (Rath, 2007).

Although skeptical at first, the more and more presenter Jodie Castanza spoke about how supervisors can use this assessment to encourage you to use your strengths rather than focus on your limitations, the more I thought that this concept made perfect sense. Wouldn’t it be great, if your supervisor and colleagues truly understood and appreciated your strengths because then they would understand how to best utilize you? Jodie emphasized with us how these strengths the assessment provided us, were great things about us and we should feel proud of what we could contribute to our group. The presentation also provided tools for how to best implement these strengths into

action to benefit our work and professional organizations.

I left the presentation feeling great about myself and proud of the things I was good at- I was not thinking for once after attending a presentation on what I needed to catch up on, but rather what I could to put my strengths into action at work!

If you are interested in finding out more about Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath or are interested in reading more about their other publications, feel free to explore their website:www.strengthsfinder.comSourcesRath, Tom. (2007). Strengths Finder 2.0. New York: Gallup Press.

NOVEMBER - 2009 FALL ISSUE #2 - THE NEXUS - PAGE 4

Hidden Gems!

With looking toward Convention being in our back yard this spring we are thinking about some fun things we can share as the state division of ACPA to welcome all of our colleagues from other areas of the country. We’d like to compile some short blurbs about hidden gems/little known facts about both Boston and the ACPA convention. We have an example below to give an idea of what we are looking for. If you have an idea for something in Boston or something at Convention people should know about please email it to oconjo2@emmanuel.edu We will do a feature with these in one of our Spring newsletters but also will be sharing them with our colleagues and guests at ACPA in Boston! We’d love to hear your ideas! Example below!Little Known Fact for 1st Time ACPA attendees:Convention Colleagues is an essential stop for first time ACPA attendees.  Participants in convention colleagues will take part in a comprehensive orientation to the Annual Convention.  This orientation includes networking with seasoned professionals and ACPA leaders.  This great opportunity is sponsored by the Standing Committee for Graduate Students and New Professionals.  

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Dr ive -­‐ In   Confe rence  Wrap-­‐Upby Jen CasavantEach year, MCPA looks forward to offering its annual Drive-In Con fe rence . T h i s year ’ s Conference was held on October 23, 2009 at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, MA. The theme for this year’s conference was “The Power of Possibility: A Legacy of Leadership “ and it was attended by more than fifty higher education professionals representing close to twenty institutions. Attendees were treated to wonderful facilities, excellent keynote address, and educational breakout sessions that addressed a wide variety of issues. Dr. Charles Fey, Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Akron in Ohio and also the first president of MCPA delivered the keynote address. In keeping with the Conference theme, Dr. Fey

challenged attendees to look at events throughout history and how they have affected our institutions in order to frame the work that we do today.In addition to the opportunity to attend presentations on various topics relevant to their daily work, a t t e n d e e s a l s o h a d t h e opportunity to meet and network with other area professionals throughout the day. It was exc i t i ng to have so many institutions represented at the conference as well as a group of professionals from various stages of their careers ranging from graduate s tudent s to V ice Presidents. Dr. David Braverman, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean o f S t uden t s a t Springfield College and ACPA Governing Board Director-Elect for External Relations also joined us. Dr. Braverman brought greeting from the Governing Board as well as excitement about the upcoming Annual Convention being held in Boston this spring.

He and Jeanne Sevigny, Assistant D i r e c t o r o f H o u s i n g a n d Residential Services as well as Local Arrangements Coordinator for the convention, encouraged attendees to get involved with ACPA by volunteering at the Annual Convention. We hope that attendees took advantage of the opportunities to gain knowledge, share knowledge and engage in meaningfu l dialogue with colleagues from around the state. The Conference would not have been possible without the support of the MCPA Executive Board and numerous other amazing people. This year we were delighted to have generous sponsor sh ip f rom Johnson and Wales University Graduate School of Education, iBelieve, Student Moving Services and ACPA as well as support from Smith Col lege and Ma s sa c h u s e t t s Co l l ege o f Pharmacy and Health Sciences in donating materials for attendees.Continued on page 6

NOVEMBER - 2009 FALL ISSUE #2- THE NEXUS - PAGE 5

Karin Edwards is an outstanding graduate of our Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership.

Her credentials are a testament to her work ethic, dedication, and creativity. The fact that she chose Johnson & Wales for her Ed.D., we think, is a testament to the quality of our program.

Alternative Weekend ClassesFlexible ScheduleIntegrated LearningElementary/Secondary and Higher Education CohortsDissertation Support

For more information and a Doctoral catalog call Jaime DiPaola at 401-598-1993

Dean of Student Development & Services,Three Rivers Community College, Norwich, CTEd.D., Educational Leadership,Johnson & Wales University

Her Most Recent Degree Of Distinction Came From Us

Ed.D., Educational Leadership

The School of Education The Alan Shawn Feinstein Graduate School

Please join us on the new MCPA Facebook fan page. Start a discussion, post a photo, or advertise an upcoming event. You do not need to be an MCPA member to join.

To join go to http://www.mymcpa.net and click on the Facebook link.

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Continued from page 5The folks at Eastern Nazarene College were outstanding hosts and we are so excited that we had the opportunity to showcase their wonderful staff and facilities.

Finally, our sincere thanks and appreciation goes out to the Conference Planning Committee:Jen Casavant Bentley UniversitySara Sandstrom Smith College Mary Wegmann Emerson CollegeSara Jacques Emerson CollegeSara Hummel-Mueller Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health SciencesErin Kelley Bentley UniversityDonna Rogalski Boston UniversityJamica Love Eastern Nazarene CollegeJonathan Kroll Emerson CollegeBrandon Huggon Northeastern UniversityCat Egan Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health SciencesIrene Stefanakos Suffolk UniversityHilary Caron Emmanuel CollegeAmanda Jehnke Suffolk UniversityLauren Piontkoski Northeastern UniversityMelissa Lowell Eastern Nazarene CollegeStephanie Fernandez Northeastern University

Welcome to our new members joining MCPA

this fall!James Albuquerque,

Endicott College

Robert Benjamin, Eastern Nazarene

College

Tiffany Chan, Newbury College

Joanna Chang, MCPHS

Caitlin Courtney, Emerson College

Jennifer DeLuca, Emmanuel College

Richard Doria, Northeastern University

Matthew Gilsbach, Northeastern University

Jennifer Forry, Newbury College

Valerie Hardt, Northeastern University

Brandi Johnson, Endicott College

Allison Kaplan, MCPHS

Jennifer Lopez, Eastern Nazarene College

Melissa Lowell, Eastern Nazarene College

Lamar McClinton, Newbury College

Tanya Miller, Eastern Nazarene College

Kaeko Noji, Suffolk University

John O’Connor, Emmanuel College

Roland Pearsall, Wentworth Institute of

Tech

Margaret Plummer, Newbury College

Victor Postemski, MCPHS

Joseph Pritchett, Emerson College

Elin Riggs, Emerson College

Jessi Robinson, Northeastern University

Jennifer Simpson, Northeastern University

Mellisa Thompson, MIT

Rick Walsh, Suffolk University

Vernon Wesley, Eastern Nazarene College

NOVEMBER - 2009 FALL ISSUE #2- THE NEXUS - PAGE 6