Big NIRSA turnout at Learning Reconsidered Institute

Inaugural event draws hundreds from across higher education

NIRSA, as a partner with the Student Affairs in Higher Education Consortium (SAHEC), was proud to co-sponsor the inaugural Learning Reconsidered Institute, which took place June 6 and 7 in St. Louis, Missouri.

The complete list of co-sponsoring SAHEC associations included the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), American College Personnel Association (ACPA), Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I), Association of College Unions International (ACUI), the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA), and NIRSA.

The sold-out Institute allowed 386 participants, including at least 40 NIRSA Members and NIRSA Executive Director Kent J. Blumenthal, the chance to learn from those who are implementing LR ideas and concepts to connect student learning throughout their campuses.

NIRSA Members Scott Levin, Georgia State University and Kathleen Hatch, Washington State University, presented at the event.

Levin’s presentation, “Student Learning Outcomes in Campus Recreation,” was co-presented with Learning Reconsidered publications editor and keynote speaker Richard Keeling. "Learning Reconsidered is definitely on the radar screens of our universities, and in Student Affairs we need to embrace the concept of the integrated student," Levin said.

Hatch agrees. The Institute, she said, was "a great opportunity to think about holistic learning. It was rewarding to see evidence where NIRSA and our many programs and services can be powerful 'horizontal forces' that weave through and connect many areas in Student Affairs."

Hatch’s presentation was titled “The Synergy of Collaboration at Washington State University: Communication in Human Relations.” Co-presenters were Troy Robey, Coordinator of Academic Programs at the Center for Civic Engagement at WSU, and Francis Morgan-Gallo, Coordinator of WSU’s Challenge Program.

Learning Reconsidered 2, co-published by NIRSA and its SAHEC partners in 2006, is available from the NIRSA Education & Publication Center.