SA Voices From the Field

TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:01]:
Welcome to Student Affairs Voices from the Field, the podcast where we share your student affairs stories from fresh perspectives to seasoned experts. Brought to you by NASPA, we curate free and accessible professional development for higher ed professionals wherever you happen to be. This is season 12, continuing our journey through the past, present, and future of student affairs. I'm doctor Jill Creighton, sheherhers, your essay voices from the field host. Today on Essay Voices, we're pleased to bring you our annual episode with the incoming NASPA board chair. This year's board chair will be doctor Michael N. Christakis, and he is the vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at the University of Albany. Christakis was named VP in May of twenty fifteen.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:42]:
And since his arrival to the university in 1999, he served in numerous positions in student affairs, having served as AVP for student affairs prior to his appointments as VP. As a member of the vice president's staff since 02/2007, Christakis developed assessment and evaluation practices, improved the effectiveness of divisional planning, professional development, communications, and risk management, and provided oversight to critical campus life areas. He was elected to be our NASPA board chair in spring twenty twenty four, and we'll assume his full role as NASPA board chair in New Orleans at our annual conference this March. Additionally, he's most recently served as chair of the Association for Public and Land Grant Universities, APLU's, Council on Student Affairs. Previously, he served as regional director for NASPA region two, while concurrently serving on NASPA's board of directors. He's a past national president of Omicron Delta Kappa's National Leadership Honor Society and past national cochair of NASPA's assessment evaluation and research knowledge community. He currently serves as the president of the board for the University of Auxiliary Services at University of Albany. A fellow of the State Academy for Public Administration, he was appointed for public service professor in 2013 and teaches undergraduate courses in public policy, public administration, and political science for which he was honored with Rockefeller College's Outstanding Teacher Award in 2010 and the University of Albany's student association's outstanding teacher in 2014.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:01:59]:
Mike, welcome to SA Voices.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:02:02]:
Hello, Jill. Thanks for having me.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:03]:
Good to see you again. It's been a minute probably since last annual.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:02:06]:
Annual is always a reunion for me. So getting a chance to see you and so many others at the annual meeting is is always a treat.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:12]:
Yes. And we are recording this in early February. By the time listeners do hear this, you might be on a plane on the way to New Orleans or

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:02:20]:
Heading to NOA.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:21]:
Or watching through virtual sessions or however you're accessing conference content this year. But, Mike, we're thrilled to talk to you today about your role as incoming NASPA board chair. You will take over the gavel, in just a couple of weeks here. We know you've been preparing thoroughly for this as the year has gone by as the chair elect seat. But we always like to start our shows by asking our guests, how did you get to your current seat at Albany as well as your seat in the NASPA board?

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:02:46]:
Yeah. What a ride it's been. So to the seat that I'm in now, I've been at the university at Albany. I'm actually in my twenty sixth year, celebrated twenty five years in the fall. I got to UAlbany as a grad student in the fall of ninety nine studying public policy and did not think then that I would be in the VP for student affairs seat here, but things happen. And so Albany has been very good to me and my family, and and I'm a two time alum having my master's degree and my PhD here. But I started in housing. I was a housing guy through my undergraduate time.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:03:19]:
I was an RA for three years. My undergraduate institution, I did my undergraduate work at Alfred University, which is really where I got first exposed to student affairs or to understanding that student affairs was a thing. I'm a first gen college student. My parents are both immigrants from Greece, and so I was the first of my family to go to college. Didn't think working at a college was something you could do in this kind of way. And so had some really great mentors at Alfred University, including the vice president for student affairs and dean of students, Jerry Brody, at the the time, who mentored me throughout. And had residence hall directors who were supervisors of mine, had mentors in student activities. Shout out to Trish DeBertelis, who was very instrumental in her role as director of the campus center at the time at at Alfred in exposing me to what you could do in student affairs.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:04:03]:
And so when I was about to graduate, was looking at grad programs, but was also sort of conscientious to the fact that I could maybe work in student affairs as a graduate assistant in this case and help pay for school, quite honestly. And so that's how I sort of entered the field, for lack of a better way of framing it. And then one thing led to another. I was a graduate hall director for a couple of years here, got my master's degree, ended up becoming a full time hall director for a year, led our first year experience program in the early 2000s, which feels like forever ago. In some ways, maybe before it was a thing. And then transitioned to leaving our apartment housing and actually building a 1,200 bed apartment complex in 02/2001, '2 thousand and '2. Did that for about five or six years, and then there were some transitions in the vice president's office in terms of leadership and was called by, at the time, the interim vice president on a Friday afternoon, I remember fairly vividly, inviting me to come to the office. And I remember my assistant at the time, Linda Rogers, says to me, you're gonna get an opportunity.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:05:06]:
And I was like, I don't know I don't know why you're thinking that. And she was like, well, you know, why would they call you on a Friday afternoon to go to the VP's office?

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:05:12]:
There's really only two reasons there.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:05:14]:
Yeah. I know. I know. It's I something's with the promotional opportunity. But, you know, Linda was right. And Chris Bouchard, who I'm I'm continue to be grateful for, offered me an opportunity to come to the VP's Office as assistant vice president. She was about to become interim VP, and she asked me to sort of lead couple of initiatives. One was assessment, which is really when I got sort of cut my teeth on assessment and student affairs at the time.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:05:33]:
This was in 02/2007. One was risk management, and the other one was in communications. And so made the move to the VP's office in 02/2007. And then, you know, one thing sort of led to another and was assistant to the VP for a while, became an assistant VP. And then we had some retirements, and I was asked to take on the associate VP role, which I did for, I think, maybe two months before Chris announced she was retiring. And Robert Jones, at the time, who was president at the University of Albany, invited me to serve as interim VP, which I happily accepted. You know, at that point, I was completely drinking the purple and gold Kool Aid here at U Albany and was deeply committed to our students and our team in student affairs. And so did that on an interim basis for a few months, and then fairly quickly, Robert was gracious enough to to offer me the full time opportunity, and that was in 02/2015.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:06:19]:
And so I've been in the c for ten years now, which is also a little bit like, is it really ten years? Because a lot's happened in ten years at UAlbany, but in higher education in general. That's sort of the the student affairs, UAlbany path. My next path actually replicates some of that because in o seven so before I actually moved to the VP's office when I was in housing, I had approached Betty Simmons and Charlie Fay at the time, both who are leaders in Region 2. And at the time, I think they were still regional VPs. This this goes back to previous governance models. But I had approached them both during the annual conference in Washington, DC, which I think was in o six, and had said to them, hey. You know, I'm Mike. I'm an assistant director of housing at UAlbany.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:07:06]:
I'd love to be the two thousand seven region two conference chair. And they're both like

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:07:13]:
Whole noob.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:07:13]:
Like, who is this guy? And so they didn't accept the offer immediately to their credit, but I made a case. We made a proposal. I had a couple of colleagues here at Albany who I was working with. We had a team of of four or five newish professionals who were into getting involved with NASPA. We were, I think, hungry for that connection for the field outside of just the University of Albany. And Charlie Fay, who ultimately ended up being the the incoming regional VP or regional director, was like, yeah. Let's do this. And so my opening salvo into NASPA work was as chair of the regional conference, which I I don't necessarily recommend as the place to start.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:07:50]:
I think there's other ways to get into this without having to go to be the regional chair of the conference, but it was a great way to sort of expose to get exposed to everything that the region was doing and the regional board and the programs we were doing for mid level mid level managers and NASPA undergraduate fellows and SSAOs. And we had a very successful conference, I'm proud to say, in Albany, Two Hundred plus participants, and it continues to be a highlight of my career. And so that was how I got into the NASPA sort of ecosystem as a volunteer. And then I stayed on the board after I rolled off as as NASPA regional two conference chair, did corporate relations for a little bit in terms of getting sponsorship for the conference, was the regional NUF coordinator. So was was very committed to the NUF program, continue to be. Look. I've got a NUF fellow again, this semester, and then we're hosting three NUF interns again this summer. That's been a big part of what we do at UAlbany.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:08:47]:
And then had eased into a couple of other roles, including MMI, the Mid Managers Institute, which I helped co facilitate with Lynette Cook Francis at the time, who was a colleague, and then became regional director, which was also just a real highlight for me. And then, you know, sort of eased out of it was past regional director, SSAO liaison for the region for a period of time. And then the NASPA board chair sort of arose and was really honored to be considered and thrilled to have been elected to this. I'm deeply, deeply humbled by the opportunity. So that's sort of the story. They're they're sort of concurrent tracks, though, I think, in a lot of ways.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:09:19]:
I think it's pretty rare in student affairs to spend your whole career at one institution, maybe within one region or within the same state or major metropolitan area, but same institution, we really don't see that often. Can you tell us why and how you were able to choose to stay? Because I think a lot of us in the field have kind of adopted the mantra of to move up, you have to move. Yeah. But you were a bit of an anomaly that you didn't have to do that in some ways. Sounds like you said yes to a lot of things. But what do you have in terms of advice for people who want to have that longevity of career with also growth elements attached to it?

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:09:53]:
Yeah. Great question. And it's funny. There was a book that is coming out or just came out that Jason Pena and Amy Hecht were editors for. And one of the chapters I wrote with a number of colleagues, including Pat Whiteley, who's also a long term serving VPSA at Miami. And when Jason had reached out Jason is a friend. He reached out about me writing the chapter. He's like, hey.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:10:17]:
You know, Mike, I'd like you to work on this chapter about being a long term VPSA at your institution. And I'm like, long term VPSA? Like, how am I long term? I guess I've not been anywhere. You know, it's worth me like, when you're in it, I don't know if you fully realize it. And then somebody points it out, and then you're putting the same sort of Pat Whiteley, who I have tremendous amount of respect for. I'm like, I'm running with Pat. I mean, Pat's like an institution. Right? And Shannon Ellis was was a coauthor as well. I mean and as I was writing that portion of the chapter, it allowed me to reflect on it.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:10:47]:
And I think a lot of it is what you sort of suggested. It's trying to sort of take advantage of opportunities at the institution. And I am very fortunate in that since I got here, there have been mentors and supervisors who have provided these opportunities that I may not have otherwise have gotten. And I think some of it is my own desire to learn and to experience things that really are outside of my comfort zone. I noted during my sort of professional journey cutting my teeth on assessment. Assessment was not something that I had really even considered doing as a career element. Although, you know, in retrospect now, I think that, you know, in as much as I introduce myself as a housing guy, because I I do believe that's where I started, I think that there's also a a a portion of my career that really is a student affairs assessment person, and I take tremendous pride in that. I had a conversation couple months ago with the NASPA assessment evaluation research knowledge community of which I co led for a period of time as national cochair.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:11:51]:
And I think that that experience in leading student affairs assessment at UAlbany was very developmental for me, but I wouldn't have had it had my vice president at the time not said, there's a need the division has because we were coming up on a reaccreditation, and I'd like you to be the one to guide us through that. And I think in that moment, I could have been like, well, you know, Chris, I I don't know the first thing about it. Right? So I'm out. And I didn't. You know, I was like, alright. Let me try to take in as much as I can about an area that I'm not familiar with. And so, you know, I was quite literally building the bike as I was riding it. And, you know, it was one of these things where I thought we were making more progress than we actually were.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:12:34]:
I remember three or four years worth of me putting forward annual conference program proposals, underscoring how Albany had really transformed the assessment space. And every every gear, I I would get turned down. Because the reality was we actually in as much as I in my little bubble, I thought we were making inroads. I think, you know, the reviewers were like, oh, not really. I mean, you know, where where are you really at? And by the fourth year, when we actually did start to get looked at, you know, for precons at the I remember we would do a number of precons at the annual conference with a number of our team at UAlbany. We would go and sort of talk about how you do student learning outcomes and KPIs and the like. It did take some time to get us there, But I think that was also reflecting on it. That was my own development in in that space.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:13:18]:
But it was, again, it was sort of saying yes to those to those opportunities. And so I like to learn. It sounds a little bit cliche, but I'm I'm a curious person. I I like to sort of know how things come to be. I remember we were dealing with was it an h one n one flu, something or other? And at the time, I was supervising the the student health center at Albany. And we had a tremendous medical director, doctor Pete Ballas. He this guy was he knew how to explain very technical medical things in the most easily understandable way. And I was like his wing person, quite honestly.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:13:58]:
Like, you know, we would go and meet with the faculty senate or the deans to talk about how we were trying to manage what an outbreak might look like. And he would be able to say it in such a way, and then I would just be able to to do sort of the administrative stuff around it. I didn't know the first thing about it.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:14:13]:
Writing the playbook or how to respond to COVID. Correct.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:14:16]:
Yeah. Exactly right. Yeah. Little do we know. Right? But I didn't know the first thing about medical or anything. And I never thought I'd be in that role, but the vice president at the time had asked me to sort of take on risk, which again, I didn't know what that meant exactly. And this was one of these things that she wanted me to work with Pete on. And so we did.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:14:33]:
And it's those kinds of varied experiences that I think have kept me here, have allowed me to contribute to student life and to campus life more broadly at UAlbany to help, I think, continue to to grow the institution and support our students. And so, you know, could I have gone someplace else? You know, maybe I could've. I mean, at some point, I'll also acknowledge that my partner, Krista, and I have got three daughters. And, you know, it's important for us that we're in a really great community, here in Albany, and we really wanted to to stay here. And so was it was was it something where there was a job that was so great that I'd wanna go there and uproot, you know, where our three kids are involved in a great school and soccer and dance and girl scouts? Yeah. Not really. And so those are all intentional decisions that we made, and I've got no regrets on any of it. Like I said, I've grown professionally at UAlbany.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:15:22]:
I was I was a grad assistant in in the fall of ninety nine. And talking to you now, and I'm I'm the VP for student affairs and enrollment, which which is pretty cool, which is pretty cool as a first gen college grad. So, you know, I'll take it.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:15:32]:
Let's switch over to NASPA. You're the incoming board chair. You will be at the helm of the board for the coming year ahead. The NASPA year is March to March. Annual conferences are shift over time. And can you tell us what does it mean to be the board chair in 2025?

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:15:48]:
When I was running for the you know, you do the board chair elect and then the board chair. So when I was running for the position, I feel like the higher ed landscape looked a little bit different than it does today. And that's not to say we weren't gonna be confronted with challenges. I think we certainly were. I just don't again, probably like your crystal ball. My crystal ball has not been working all that great, you know, these days. But I do think that even when I was making the case for my candidacy, I'm very interested And what I mean by And what I mean by that is we're reflecting a bit on where we were, let's say, five years ago at this time as we were coming on to a global pandemic in COVID. There was clearly on most college campuses, there was clearly a role student affairs staff were playing in helping support our students, their their health, their well-being, their academic success.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:16:49]:
And at the time, there were ACE reports, the American Council of Education, the interviews they do with presidents that said, you know, what are the what are your top concerns or priorities? And at that time, probably during that six month period between the outbreak and and when we were getting a vaccine, it was it was student mental health was item number one, which I don't really think up to that point, college presidents were calling out student mental health as the number one priority. Now, if we reflect on the work that we were doing in student affairs, and again, I think that you all were waiting for two plus decades, student health and well-being has always been a priority for us. That's not new. And I think you could probably go across the country and talk to student affairs professionals at small private institutions, large public, and anything in between. And mental health, student health and well-being was always something that we were trying to prioritize. At that particular moment, as we were dealing with with the pandemic, it was made a priority by institutional leaders. And so we had an opportunity in student affairs to lean in on that. Think some of the challenge quite honestly, though, Jill, was that we were also, in a lot of ways, doing so many other things at the institution.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:17:59]:
We were I'm just gonna say, you know, what we were doing at UAlbany. Right? I I still remember Thanksgiving getting my PPE on and going and delivering Thanksgiving meals to 200 some odd students that we had in isolation housing at the time, because that's what we were doing. We were trying to figure out when the vaccine was gonna roll out, how we were gonna deliver vaccinations to students. We were still sort of trying to figure out when we were gonna come back that following fall, what masking looked like. So, yeah, in as much as it would have been great if we could just exclusively really double down on, yeah, let's really talk about mental health because this is something that we really think is critical to a student's success and well-being, not just now during a pandemic, but in general, we were being pulled as we often are in student affairs in many different directions. And so for me, as I was thinking about my candidacy and my service to the association as board chair, was how do we how do we get to a place where on our campuses, student affairs is viewed as the leader in a handful of areas that I think we are uniquely positioned to lead in. And health and well-being is among them. Health and well-being is among them.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:19:05]:
Issues around belonging, DI, social justice are among them. Right? And and I get, you know, we've got we at UAlbany, and I know that DI is under attack across the country right now. But, you know, UAlbany, I'm fortunate to have a chief diversity officer who is an important, partner in what we do. And and it's not, you know, what the the CDO does versus what the senior student affairs officer does. It's what we do together in this space. Right? I mean, we can probably sit here and talk about twenty some odd years ago when I was an assistant hall director. I was doing DEI work in the residence halls. At a time before, we actually had a a sort of a a dedicated CDO in in the way we do now.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:19:42]:
So student affairs have long been doing this kind of work. Career readiness and preparation is an area. Right? And I know that we can get into sort of the nuances of where career development offices sit, and it's one of these areas that is sometimes in student affairs and sometimes it's in academic affairs and sometimes it's in advancement. But if it is in a position where it sits in or close to student affairs, we really should try to double down in that space. How are what are we doing to prepare students for career? And it goes beyond just sort of the resume prep. It's critical thinking and and sort of the kinds of things that that we are positioned to do in the work we support outside of the classroom as well. And so that's where I really wanna get our members confident in being able to make the case on their campuses that I've got this. I'm a student affairs professional, and I've got this.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:20:28]:
You gotta trust me on this one. And I don't know if that's where we're at everywhere that that we are. And I think that NASPA is uniquely positioned to provide resources and support at all levels of our association, whether it's the new professional or senior student affairs officer or faculty members who are teaching in the student affairs space to sort of crystallize the impact that student affairs has on a college student's trajectory. And we need to call that out probably more assertively than we have before because there is tremendous value in what we do as professionals, that help support that help support students. And I think short of us calling it out, I'm not sure I don't know if others are going to. And so that's where I think, certainly together with with, Amelia Parnell, who's our who's our new NASPA president and and the board, we're we're in a good position to to do that.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:21:25]:
I was having a conversation on the pod last season with, doctor Mexagawa, who was a distinguished pillar recently. He and I were having the same conversation that student affairs, because we're so admired in the day to day work of actually supporting and helping students and doing the student success initiatives and literally just getting through our days, that we often don't have the capacity to tell our story. And that is something that we need to figure out. And so Mike's advice was to tell our story, not just on our campuses, but in our communities and beyond. And I thought that was a really interesting take because we don't necessarily do that well. And so telling our story not only to our communities within the campus, but also beyond the campus. Do you have any colleagues that you'd like to shout out who are doing this particularly well?

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:22:07]:
I'll call out Lamar Hilton, who's the current he's a regional director. He's at Indiana University. You know, he's he's done, I think, great work. I'm biased. Lars, a a very good friend of mine, but I think he's done amazing work in leading the division there. But I think he's also done amazing work in championing the work that his the student life does at Indiana as a transformational partner. And I say that both in my sort of conversations with Lamar, but I think also just in in sort of watching him on on Instagram, if you follow him. I think you see the he's out in the community.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:22:36]:
He's on campus. He's at athletic events. He's underscoring the impact that student affairs can have in student life and student success. And I think that's really critically important. But I really appreciate the comment you made that Mike had referenced about sort of the narrative and the story. And I think that's where we're challenged by that. I mean, I think that in my twenty five, twenty six years in student affairs, and I and I say this to our team here all the time, we're not inclined to ever stop doing something. We're always inclined to do something more.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:23:05]:
And the reality is we only have so much capacity. I think that's a comment you made, Jill. Right? There's only so many things we can actually reasonably do, and there's only so many things we can actually reasonably do well. And, you know, that's that's where I've challenged our team here at at UAlbany. We're going through a strategic planning process now for the division. And I've said to them, we cannot continue to be doing more with less. We've really got to be thinking about ways that identify impact programs that really do tie to metrics that are of importance in the national landscape. And student success is an area that I think increasingly higher ed associations are zeroed in, not as I think we should be.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:23:49]:
I think issues around retention, persistence, graduation, and outcomes are. In this particular climate now, when you're talking about whether it's return on investment or impact or the value of higher education, we've got to be able to point to where we are having an impact on these these national these are national metrics. Right? Retention is not new. It's been around for a very long time. But I think how does our work positively impact student retention and persistence and graduation rates? And And this is where I then revert back into the the assessment role, which I and when given the opportunity, I didn't fully understand it. But having now done it for fifteen, almost twenty years, this is where data does matter for us. And this is where I really do think that having Amelia Parnell in the president's state puts NASPA in a very strong position. If anybody my first interactions with Amelia were in the the assessment space.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:24:50]:
She was VP at NASPA. I was the the the co chair for the assessment evaluation research KC with Gina Masterdecasa was my co chair from Florida. But that's where we began to sort of interact on these issues around data and calling out impact. And so I think what I'm excited about is in as much as higher education is under the microscope and in some ways maybe under attack and there's questioning the value of it, I think what we have is data we can point to. And it's trying to get our colleagues to know what that data is and how to present it to get at the very narrative. I think, that that, Mike Sagawa was talking about when you guys had the conversation. Data is an important part to the narrative. Yeah.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:25:37]:
The anecdotal stories are really great. Right? And they can they can they can really, I think, make a compelling argument. But when you really begin to call out impact on again, I keep on sort of saying retention, persistence, graduation, because those are national metrics that we all know exist. But particularly how student affairs units are pouring into that, that I think is where the rubber meets the road. I'll also point out Danita Brown Young, who's the vice chancellor student affairs at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. Just to the question before Jill about folks who have, I think, done a nice job on making the case. Danita's division does impact college, which they call college impact reports. And what these reports do or for the multiple colleges that that exist at Illinois or Urbana Champaign, and I don't know the exact number.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:26:22]:
Danita's division puts together an impact report that calls out data points as it relates to students from that respective college. And Danita then works with her team to engage the deans and the the school and college leadership on an annual basis to talk about those impact points. Right? That to me is a great way of calling out impact across the units that are under Danita's leadership at at Illinois. And so we're trying to do the same thing at Albany. Right? Full credits to Danita. Right? But we're trying to do the same thing here. We're trying to do college impact reports where our assessment team and student affairs are looking through the units that we've got and are pulling data impact points that we can then that I can go and meet with the Dean of Arts and Sciences and say, hey, well, if you're the largest academic unit at UAlbany, here's some information about how many students we house, how many students participate in career programming, how many students are involved in in student clubs and organizations, and here's how we've tracked their retention, persistence, graduation. Right? That is demonstrating the impact that that student affairs has.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:27:27]:
And so, again, the example at Illinois that Danita has done, I think, is one worth replicating. And I think that's an important part of telling our story.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:27:34]:
If you'd like to learn more from Danita, she was our NASPA board chair. I believe it was two cycles ago now. And her episode is going to be in whatever two seasons ago is for our podcast. If you'd like to go check that out, please do. Mike, I do wanna kind of name the elephant in the room because we're recording this in the February. We've been navigating the transition of a new political administration in The US. And regardless of what side of the aisle you're on, if you're working in The United States, your job is going to be affected by this new administration's policies. We're also hearing some rumors and we don't know again what will happen by the time this episode is released, that there is some plans to dismantle parts of the Department of Education or the entirety of it.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:28:14]:
We're really not sure what that looks like yet. So my question for you here is what is NASPA's plan for how to support our members as we move forward in what is, you know, pretty volatile policy time?

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:28:26]:
Great question, Jill, and important and timely. So, you know, for us, for NASPA, and credit to Amelia Parnell, who's our president, it's about staying informed. There has been already a flurry of actions largely through executive order out of the current administration. Like you said, I'm not gonna make this about whether we agree or disagree with a particular policy stamp. There have been a number of actions that do impact our students and do impact our college campuses. And I think that what we have found in the first couple of weeks of this is being able to quickly be sort of aware of what those EOs are or what those actions are, whether they're EOs or or other kinds of statements. What the impact is on the populations that we serve, whether it's it's students, our employees, or international students, queer trans students. It's sort of understanding the impact.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:29:18]:
But it's also, I think, it's also, I think, trying to figure out what the next immediate step would be. So and and what I mean by this is I was sitting with a handful of students on Friday. Friday is a I try to doesn't mean Friday is my office hours day. It's open office hours. Any student can come and meet with me on Friday. And so I had a number of students come through on Friday, most last week, and they were interested in sort of the impacts on some of these actions that were taken by the administration. And for me, it was underscoring that at the University of Albany, we are still committed to values that I think are very core to who we are in the space of inclusion and diversity and that we remain steadfast behind that. I think the other part though in speaking with the students was what happens on Tuesday morning could shift by Tuesday afternoon and could be reversed by Wednesday morning.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:30:10]:
And the example I was giving on Friday, and again, some of this is timing, right, in terms of the listeners, is there was an there's the OMB memo that in effect froze, funding. There was a provision in the OMB memo. This is gonna I'm gonna get a little bit technical here that said that the freeze would not impact individual award programs, so to speak. So out of the gate, you would think that, let's say, title four funding, so Pell work study, would not be impacted. The problem is there are some nuances to the way those grant programs run. Right? So Pell is is in effect given to the institution. The institution disperses it. That was an evolving issue over, like, forty eight hours.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:30:51]:
And so what started it as something on Tuesday morning became something very different on Wednesday afternoon. And so and then I think we're seeing that with a number of these issues. So long way of getting at for NASPA and the work that our staff is doing and the work that the board of directors is currently doing, which is actually being very attentive on an ongoing basis. So beyond sort of just our regular board meetings, right, Amelia and her team have been very good about convening the board on a more regular basis to take up issues so we are informed about what is going on and to consider what an appropriate response may be. But it's almost not knee jerk. I'm not probably using the right terminology because if you are sort of responding in the moment, you may not be actually offering that be completely accurate response. And as much as we want to respond now, what is happening now might be different tomorrow. And that's something that can be a little bit jarring to sort of lead through, and it does take a little bit of just a deep breath to sort of see what the landscape looks like.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:31:51]:
And I'll say that NASPA, I think, is is fortunate in that we have leadership, both staff leadership in Emilia and board leadership that is keyed into what is best for our members and trying to message that when appropriate in such a way to provide members on campuses with resources to support to support them, each other, but also, I think importantly, our students. And so I think we're gonna be engaged in that for at least the next couple of years. And I think that there's been a a pretty significant flurry in the first couple of weeks of the administration. And I think the future of of the Department of Education is is certainly one that we're gonna track very, very closely because there's obviously some impact there. That that will impact students and quite honestly, some of the most sort of minoritized and marginalized students in terms of the populations that the Department of Education serves.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:32:41]:
I think this is a good approach. It sounds like NASPA in general is gonna be maybe a bit more reactive in the next couple of months just because we don't really know what this is going to look like. It is fairly unprecedented for an administration to move in this particular way. My doctorate's in public administration. I know you studied public policy, so it's it's fascinating to see structures being used in ways that we haven't seen them used before from from a scholarly perspective. But I understand that the feeling of being inside of it can be really unsettling as well. So I just encourage our members to take care of yourselves and make space for your well-being. Because I know our work is being affected, and for some of us, it can feel really scary because our direct work is what is being questioned right now.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:33:21]:
And we don't know what the future is going to hold in terms of what the federal end is gonna decide to do. We know that a lot of our states are affirming the work that we do and some are not, and we've seen that already. Our colleagues in specific states trying to navigate care for students while also being prohibited from engaging in specific types of sport. A lot ahead and and, Mike, we hope to continue to talk to you about this should things really, really change the next couple of months. And on that note, we are still in our theme of the past, present, and future of student affairs. So I have three questions for you. One each on the past, present and future about our profession. So starting in the past, what's one component of the history of student affairs that you think we should continue to carry forward or alternatively let go of? I think

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:34:02]:
it'd be great if I could find something we can get rid of. You know, I say it'd be great if I could think of something we could get rid of because it goes to the point I was sort of alluding to earlier, is we continue to take it on. We continue to take everything on and feeling in some ways that just reflects the role that student affairs has played in sort of the more contemporary history in higher education that we outside of the classroom in particular, there has been so much more that we are able to do. And as I sit with our team, they're tired. And I think the pandemic in particular also underscored, like, where's the balance? And I I'm gonna try to draw this sort of ping pong here, but I continue to be concerned about sort of the future of the profession in terms of where where our next professionals coming from. And if they're seeing those of us who are in it spending hours at a time in these spaces, morning, noon, and night, is that appealing to rising professionals? I mean, I don't have an answer to that. Right? I've I've got a NASPA fellow who actually think is really into student affairs. And Juan's been completely exposed to what I've done over the last two years.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:35:07]:
He's been my fellow. So I I don't know. He's been turned off by it. I do try to glean some balance in what I do, and I do try to underscore that with with Juan. But I don't think, you know, this notion if if I was to say that in some ways student affairs has been everywhere all the time historically, I do wonder if maybe that's something we need to reconsider in a lot of ways. And I'll fully acknowledge, Joe, that's a mic take. There's clearly folks out there that might be like, well, no. We've not been everywhere all the time, and maybe that's true.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:35:31]:
But I think there's there's a pretty stark shift that's happened certainly since 2020 in the pandemic. In the pandemic, I'd say George Floyd, quite honestly, there was a significant racial reckoning that took place that for me was there was an evolution in my own thinking on issues around race and equity that I hadn't experienced previous to that. And a lot of that had to do with quite honestly being on a Zoom call. And it was May, June of the pandemic with black colleagues who were visibly exhausted on the screen. And that had a pretty significant impact on me in watching them and hearing them talk about George Floyd's murder. And so, you know, that to me was another example of how much more of this can we sort of take on? And we're all approaching it from very different ways. So I do think it's it's trying to truly glean some balance there. But I think it's that also goes to the point I was making earlier about how do we carve out what our explicit role is on college campuses as the the authority in student health, in student belonging, in issues around equity.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:36:34]:
So that's sort of a a meandering answer to that, but I think there's gotta be some more balance there.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:36:38]:
Moving into the present, what's happening in the field right now that's going well for student affairs? I

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:36:43]:
was in Boston a couple weeks ago at the NASPA Strategies Conference, and there were 1,400 people there. And I think we're zeroing in and maybe using some sharp elbows to sort of demonstrate to people that we are the folks that are interested in issues around student health, well-being. There was some significant energy in Boston in January around, topics related to health and well-being. And I was so impressed by the presentations, by the poster sessions. We brought a small team of our own peer educators there. We had about 10 of them. The Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program at UAlbany is over five decades old now. But to see these students, these young people, who I think in a lot of ways, if they wanted to, any one of those 10 students could be very successful student affairs professionals in their life and career.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:37:32]:
But having them there with 1,400 people, professionals, with a focus on how student mental health is sort of key to student success, I think, was just a tremendous, tremendous opportunity for them. And they said as much. They dropped off a note the other day because we went out to dinner after their poster session. But I think that's actually something that we are doing right. And I think that UAlbany and a number of other institutions are really trying to lean in heavily as health promoting universities. And I think NASPA has been supportive of the US Health Promoting College Network. There was a meeting that happened in Boston there. There's a lot to be said about not just sort of heralding the importance of health, but actually demonstrating how we're positively impacting this through our work.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:38:15]:
And that was on full display in Boston in January. So I think among probably many things, that's one area that I think I'm tremendously proud of.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:38:22]:
Looking towards the future, in an ideal world, what does the field need to do to thrive towards our future?

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:38:27]:
I think we need to center our people. I think we need to center our staff, our colleagues. And I think that, I mean, as much as we are prioritizing student health and well-being, I think we also need to be prioritizing our own health and well-being. And that's one of these other realizations that I think I've had in the last probably five years, certainly since the pandemic. And I've said this to our team here at UAlbany, and I and I've shared it with NASPA colleagues as well. If we are not in a position to support our staff, our employees, our professionals, and our grad students so that they feel supported and seen and heard and taken care of, how would we expect them to do that for our students? And I think and then I've said with a number of colleagues, I think, oh, this is not rocket science. I mean, this is not oh, this is an amazing idea. But it's easier said than done, I think, is the challenge.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:39:16]:
I say to first year students, every summer, you need to prioritize your health. If you're not eating well, if you're not exercising, if you're not sleeping, you're gonna struggle in the class room. You have to be healthy in order to be successful, and there's lots of ways we can unpack success. But I think that one's health is key to that, and I'd say the same thing with student affairs practitioners. How are we centering their health and well-being? And I don't know to the extent that we have really tackled it head on. And that is something that I am hopeful in the next year or so that we can begin to unpack a little bit more. The concept isn't rocket science. Science.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:39:54]:
I think delivering on it was gonna take some minds to come together and say, you know, let's let's pause for a second and see how we can, in fact, prioritize student affairs practitioners' health and well-being. And it's it's for members across our association. I mean, it's I know everybody's got maybe different needs. What the challenges that a senior student affairs officer might be confronted are probably very different than what a new professional is confronting. That and then acknowledging the intersectionality of various identities and experiences, also very different. So it's a challenge to unpack it. But if we wanna try to sustain the profession going forward, I think we have to prioritize our health in doing that. And I would certainly for those that are listening, if you've got ideas, I would be very open to hearing them because I I really do think that it's gonna take all of us to really tackle this issue of our profession's health.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:40:47]:
It starts with our own health, how we get there. I wish I had a good sense, but I'm hoping there's folks that are there that are listening that can chime in on this one.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:40:53]:
It's time to take a quick break and toss it over to producer Chris to learn what's going on in the NASPA world.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:40:59]:
Thanks, Jill. So excited to be back in the NASPA world, and there's so much happening in NASPA. The twenty twenty five NASPA virtual conference is happening April 9 to April 11. You can now sign up for the twenty twenty five NASPA virtual conference. You can sign up today and block off your calendar for a three day interactive educational experience. Attendees will engage in high quality live virtual sessions focused on individual and team growth. All of the sessions will remain accessible to attendees on demand for a full three hundred and sixty five days after the conference. This is a perfect way to encourage ongoing development.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:41:42]:
Find out more on the NASPA website. There is a brand new public policy hub that has been developed by NASPA to help institutions and individuals navigate the evolving public policy landscape. NASPA is pleased to announce a brand new public policy resource hub. This is a free member resource to stay informed about key policy developments affecting student affairs. The public policy resource hub consists of a compilation of policy research, coalition work, and resources. You can find tools to track state legislation and federal policy changes. And NASPO will work to keep the information updated to help you stay abreast of emerging developments. The twenty twenty five cannabis and opioid prevention virtual summit is coming up on March 24.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:42:36]:
The twenty twenty five cannabis and opioid prevention virtual summit will equip you with targeted strategies to address cannabis and opioid misuse on your campuses. Through expert led sessions and evidence based approaches, you will gain insights into prevention, intervention, and support frameworks that enhance student health and safety. This one day virtual summit features a keynote session, research policy and best practice presentations, and tangible resources to help you and student leaders on your campus develop or enhance their programming and services to prevent substance misuse on campus. NASPA invites you to connect with colleagues, participate in engaging sessions, and learn from dynamic plenary sessions. Again, this virtual summit is on 03/24/2025, and you can find out more on the NASPA website. Another virtual summit that's coming up is a part of the Culture of Respect series, and this is a new webinar called A Is Not for Ally, Asexuality, Erasure, and Sexual Violence in the queer community. In this webinar, the speakers will examine the unique challenges faced by asexual individuals, particularly regarding sexual and interpersonal violence. They will highlight how asexuality is often erased or even ostracized within queer communities, leading to misconceptions and a lack of visibility that can leave survivors without adequate support.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:44:08]:
By addressing these intersections, they aim to foster a more inclusive conversation around consent, trauma, and identity, ultimately advocating for a more supportive environment for all members of the LGBTQ plus community. This session is on March 12 online and is being hosted by Stephanie Foran, assistant director of care at Kansas State University. You can find out more in the learning hub on the NASPA website. Every week, we're going to be sharing some amazing things that are happening within the association. So we are going to be able to try and keep you up to date on everything that's happening and allow for you to be able to get involved in different ways because the association is as strong as its members. And for all of us, we have to find our place within the association, whether it be getting involved with a knowledge community, giving back within one of the the centers or the divisions of the association. And as you're doing that, it's important to be able to identify for yourself, Where do you fit? Where do you wanna give back? Each week, we're hoping that we will share some things that might encourage you, might allow for you to be able to get some ideas that will provide you with an opportunity to be able to say, Hey, I see myself in that knowledge community. I see myself doing something like that.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:45:34]:
Or encourage you in other ways that allow for you to be able to think beyond what's available right now, to offer other things to the association, to bring your gifts, your talents to the association and to all of the members within the association. Because through doing that, all of us are stronger and the association is better. Tune in again next week as we find out more about what is happening in NASPA.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:46:02]:
Chris, thank you so much as always for keeping us informed on what's going on in and around NASPA. And, Mike, we are at our lightning round, so I have seven questions for you to answer in ninety seconds. Are you ready to go?

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:46:13]:
Oh, boy. Here we go. Let's go.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:46:15]:
Alright. Question one. If you were a conference keynote speaker, what would your entrance music be?

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:46:20]:
Pretty fly for a white guy.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:46:21]:
Number two. When you were five years old, what did you wanna be when you grew up?

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:46:24]:
Oh, when I was five, I wanted to be a school bus driver.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:46:26]:
Number three. Who's your most influential professional mentor?

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:46:29]:
Probably Steve Bicessi, formerly at the University of Richmond.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:46:32]:
Number four. Your essential student affairs read.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:46:34]:
It's not really a student affairs read, but I like Y by Simon Sinek.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:46:38]:
Number five, the best TV show you binged lately.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:46:41]:
I've done the Gilded Age.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:46:42]:
Number six, the podcast you spent the most hours listening to in the last year.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:46:45]:
I'm a big Buffalo Bills fan, so I've been doing one Bills live.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:46:48]:
And finally, number seven, any shout outs you'd like to give, personal or professional?

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:46:52]:
Just a quick shout out to my RDs for life. These were the team of regional directors that we were together a couple years back. So shout out to RDs for life who are out there. Big supporters.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:47:01]:
Well, Mike, we wish you all of the best for your year ahead in the board chair seats. And if NASPA members would like to get a hold of you after the show, how can they find you?

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:47:09]:
An email at [email protected]. Always the easiest way to go. You can find me on the albany.edu website as well or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:47:17]:
Thank you so much for sharing your voice with us today, and we look forward to your leadership.

Dr. Michael N. Christakis [00:47:21]:
Thanks, Jill. Appreciate the opportunity.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:47:28]:
This has been an episode of SA Voices from the Field, a podcast brought to you by NASPA. This show is made possible because of you, the listeners, and we continue to be grateful that you spend your time with us. If you'd like to reach the show, you can always email us at [email protected] or find me on LinkedIn by searching for doctor Jill L. Creighton. We always welcome your feedback and your topic and guest suggestions. We'd love it if you take a moment to tell a colleague about the show, and please leave us a five star rating on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening now. It really helps other student affairs professionals find our show and helps us to become more visible in the larger podcasting community. This episode was produced and and hosted by doctor Jill Creighton.

Dr. Jill Creighton [00:48:06]:
That's me. Produced and audio engineered by Dr. Chris Lewis. Special thanks to the University of Michigan Flint for your support as we create this project. Catch you next time.