Higher Education Administration Student Professional Association

Please visit the UT Emergency Website for further details: http://www.utexas.edu/emergency/

My name is Smita Ruzicka and I am a doctoral candidate in the Department of Higher Education Administration at The University of Texas at Austin.  I am writing to request your assistance in forwarding this information or participating in my research study that examines the intergenerational issues between first-generation South Asian mothers and second-generation South Asian American daughters who are currently enrolled as undergraduate students at The University of Texas at Austin. South Asians are defined as individuals whose countries of origin include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Maldives.  This study specifically seeks to investigate how these intergenerational issues affect the overall college experiences and identity development of second-generation South Asian American college women.  I am looking to individually interview South Asian American undergraduate women who are currently enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin. Eligible participants must be second-generation (born in the U.S. or have arrived in the U.S. prior to adolescence) and be of South Asian origin.  In addition to this, I will also be interviewing South Asian mothers whose daughters are currently attending The University of Texas at Austin.  These eligible participants must be first-generation (immigrated to the U.S. as adults) and be of South Asian origin. 
    
If you are interested in participating in this study and would like to learn more about it, please feel free to contact me via email at s.ruzicka@austin.utexas.edu or by phone at (512) 589-5774.  I would also greatly appreciate you passing along this information to anyone who might be interested in participating in this study.

Thank you for your consideration.

Smita S. Ruzicka

My name is CeCe Ridder and I am a doctoral candidate in the Department of Higher Education Administration at The University of Texas at Austin. I am writing to request your assistance in recruiting students for a research study about Black-White Multiracial college students.  I am seeking registered students at UT Austin in the third or fourth year of study and have one parent from a Black or African American racial category and one from a White or European racial category.   I would be very interested in speaking to them more about involvement or non-involvement in student organizations and racial identity. This interview is a conversation style, confidential process.

The title of this study is: Multiracial College Students: Exploring Racial Identity Through Student Organizations. The significance of this study is to explore how multiracial students utilize student organizations, and what influence this involvement has on racial and other social identities (gender, age, sexual orientation, etc). The implications for college administrators will be a more in depth understanding of multiracial students, and improve policy, curricula, advising and counseling.

The student participation will include a brief survey, one 60-90 minute in person interview and a 60 minute follow-up interview at a convenient time and location.  If you have any students in mind, can you please email me his/her name and email address and I can send them an email, or feel free to forward this email to them with my information CeCe.Ridder@mccombs.utexas.edu or by phone (512) 789-7410.

Thank you for your consideration.

CeCe Ridder

From Lynn Ellison, Doctoral Student HED

Twitter is not just the place to get the latest craziness going through Kanye’s head.  It’s also a valuable professional development tool.  Best part: it’s free!  But, just in case you aren’t convinced, I thought I’d tell you how the housing and student affairs communities on Twitter kept me in grad school after The Great Meltdown of 2010.

Let me set the scene: I was in class and it had been one of those days. Right before class, I learned that I missed a very important reading for that week. I’m actively creating better study habits than the ones I had during the first two degrees, so I became very angry with myself for the mistake. Then, the professor provided directions for our first paper – which was due the following week. As he reviewed the guidelines, I became completely overwhelmed by everything that needed to happen in the next 7 days. Plus, I was going to see ”Metamorphoses” at Zach Theatre and Alabama was playing Penn State in a pivotal game during the same time period. I also jumped ahead to all of the weekends I would be traveling for work this semester and it just seemed like too much.

It was at this point that I thought, “Forget this. I don’t need a doctorate” and sent out a tweet that said: “I’m about 5 seconds from dropping out. Just learned more about an assignment due next week and I don’t know when I’m going to do it. #sadoc” (#sadoc is the Twitter search term for the Student Affairs doctoral student community and serves as a way to aggregate tweets around a specific topic). This was a desperate cry for help as well as a statement of serious intent.

What resulted was a tremendous outpouring of support from all parts of the country, most in the general theme of “hang in there! You can do it! What can we do to help?” Within an hour I had been talked out of making a rash decision and some really helpful things developed. First, I created a simple weekly reading plan that I would fill out each Thursday (it’s amazing how much this simple chart has helped). The worksheet would help me get all of my reading and assignments done and still have some semblance of a life (Alabama football, live theatre, “Hoarders”). Second, the idea for a monthly #sadoc Twitter chat developed in that conversation.

If you are a student affairs practitioner currently in a doctorate program, please join us on Monday, October 11th at 8:00pm CDT for our first #sadoc twitter chat. New to twitter chats? Here’s a good place to get some basic information. During this first chat, we’ll talk about strategies for balance as well as themes for future chats. The awesome Ann Marie Klotz (@annmarieklotz) from DePaul University and I will facilitate and we hope that this will serve as an ongoing source of support for those of us trying to have it all. Maybe Twitter can save you, too.

Graduation Deadlines and Instructions for Fall 2010
Deadline: October 11, 2010

Master’s Students
Submit the Master’s Graduation Application Form online at:
http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/pdn/deadlines/masters_fall.html
See the bottom of this email for additional information.

Doctoral Students
Submit the Doctoral Degree Candidate Form at:
http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/pdn/deadlines/doc_fall.html
See the bottom of this email for additional information. (more…)

All HEASPA members are invited to join APSA (Association of Professionals in Student Affairs) for a networking social hour today (Tuesday, Sept 21).  Members of both organizations will meet at Austin’s Pizza on Guadalupe (across the street from the Union) from 5-8PM.  This is a great opportunity to learn about other departments on campus and network for internships!

The Chronicle of Higher Education highlights the journey of four undocumented UT Austin students who hope for passage of the DREAM Act.  Great story of students on our campus determined to overcome adversity.

http://chronicle.com.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/article/Illegal-Voices-Undocumented/124441/

(You will need to log in with your UTEID and password).

Hello,

I have been thinking back on my time as a doctoral student and figure that I could write some tips for the new folks. I am sure we’ll get my counterparts to post other useful items (I am officially a doctoral candidate this week!).

1. Buy endnote from the beginning.

2. If you have a topic, write towards it. If you have a “maybe” topic, test drive it by writing a paper on it. And if you use endnote you already have the start of a reference list, which is a beautiful thing.

3. If you don’t know what to say in a class then don’t feel pressured to do so. At the very least, don’t start speaking on something you know nothing about. Everyone is smart in this program and are here for a reason. And they all know you don’t know what you’re talking about.  If you find yourself speaking too much in every class, stop it. No one wants to hear you talk for the sake of talking. There are others who would love a chance to speak if there is an actual pause. This means people will want to be in a group with you and you will actually build colleagues for the future.

4. There is no pressure to use giant words just for the sake of saying them aloud.  Iteration. Persimmon. You know.

5. Professors know if you open the thesaurus for every other word.

6. Hegemonic and hegemony are pronounced differently. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, look it up. Someone in a class is going to say it incorrectly and it won’t be you.

7. If you are stuck on a paper, a topic whatever, don’t be too proud to ask the professor. He/she won’t think you’re stupid. Well, some of them might and some of them will actually tell you. Typically, this will happen in your cognate courses.  Some of those students are WAY ahead of us in certain topics they have immersed or are immersing themselves in for years. And even if you know what you’re talking about you’ll always be the “ED” person anyway. Just keep your head down, take notes, and attempt to speak in class every other week. Bringing treats for the class helps, just like when you started middle school and gave cookies to the 10th graders.

8. If you’re still searching for a career, see if you can interview someone in another area to see what they do every day.

9.  Go to a conference and present if you can.

10. Student Affairs is smaller than you think. It is actually smaller on this campus than people think. Or people who consider themselves student affairs people but aren’t in the division, like me. So watch what you say and to whom you say it. On that note, never ever get into an elevator and start yapping about someone, especially if there are people in there you don’t know. Trust me, someone knows who you’re talking about, or can figure it out.

11. Learn APA, like seriously.

12. Soak it in. This isn’t undergrad. If you get stuff to read as “supplements” read it. At some point. You’ll never get another chance to just read random useful articles. Read your material in chunks if you can, take some notes. We all know that the average attention span while reading is actually fairly small, so don’t think you’ll read it all on Sunday and remember it. Always come up with one question or one thing “of note” so if you get in that situation of being asked a question in class, you actually have something to say.

13. What else????

CeCe Ridder

Dr. Victor Saenz, Assistant Professor in the Higher Education Administration Department, has been named a 2010 ING Professor of Excellence!   Dr. Saenz was acknowledged at the Texas vs Wyoming game and will be specifically honored at the Texas vs Texas A&M game.  Congrats Dr. Saenz!

From www.texassports.com:

Since 1910, more than 125,000 alumni have earned master’s or doctoral degrees from UT and gone on to change the world, and in honor of their impact, their work will be celebrated with the “ING Professors of Excellence” ceremony.

“ING is committed to recognizing and honoring excellence in education,” said David Linney, executive vice president and head of Public Markets, ING. “The ING Professor of Excellence Award is just one of the ways we can express our appreciation for educators who are dedicated to helping students reach their full potential, preparing them to compete in the global society.”

ING is a global financial institution offering banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services to more than 85 million clients around the world. ING is dedicated to setting the standard in helping clients manage their financial futures.

Seven featured professors will be presented with a commemorative gift from ING during an on-field presentation as the Longhorns host the Cowboys of Wyoming.

“We want to acknowledge the great work these faculty members do here on our campus and in our classrooms,” UT Men’s Athletics Director DeLoss Dodds said.

College of Education Assistant Professor Victor Saenz
Saenz has worked to improve college access and college readiness for Latina/o, first-generation and low-income students. Saenz’s research informs state and federal policy issues that promote access and equity for these future college students.

The Dean of Students Office has set its schedule for this semester’s GA Professional Development Sessions, which HEASPA members are welcome to attend. . All sessions will begin at noon in the DOS conference room (SSB 4.492). The first session will be Thursday, Sept. 23 and will cover internships.

If you are planning on attending the session, you need to RSVP on the Google Document AT LEAST ONE WEEK BEFORE THE SESSION.  https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AozcoqS82E3TdEVzZnpaeUFqSmVxT0Z0TEpoZVVFaVE&hl=en&authkey=CNvzo4QI