Charlie Nutt, NACADA Executive Director
In addition to our excellent institutes and seminar in February, our 10 regional conferences, and the excitement of our international conference in June at the University of Maastricht, this spring has been an exciting time for our association. As it is at many of our own institutions, this has been a time to reflect on where we have been and to look forward to the NACADA of the Future. In our nearly 40 years of existence, NACADA has grown into one of the most respected and valued higher education associations globally. This has occurred not by accident, but by the careful planning and hard work of many amazing volunteers and leaders as well as the NACADA Executive Office staff at Kansas State University.
Consequently, in April the NACADA Board of Directors, NACADA Council, and Executive Office liaisons to our Divisions gathered in Salt Lake City for our annual midyear meeting; however, this midyear meeting was like no other! This year, due to the vision of President Josh Smith and Vice President Joanne Damminger, the two days in Salt Lake City were spent planning for the future of NACADA. Rich Robbins, former NACADA Board of Directors member and chair of the Summer Institute Advisory Board and the Assessment Institute Advisory Board and currently the NACADA Journal co-editor, facilitated our discussion and our work in looking at where we have been and where we want the association to go in the future. While the NADADA Board is charged with determining the strategic path of the association, President Smith and Vice President Damminger felt strongly that the NACADA Council must be involved in this work as they represent the association members at the grassroots level.
With Rich facilitating our work, I am excited to announce that the NACADA Board of Directors has approved the NACADA mission, vision, and strategic goals that will drive the work of the association over the next five to 10 years. As we move forward, it is important for our association to have a clear pathway to follow that is not dependent on individual leaders, Board members, or Executive Office staff but is focused on where the association should be in the future.
While the new mission, vision, and goals officially take effect following the annual conference in Salt Lake City in October, I want to take this opportunity to introduce to the membership what will guide the NACADA of the Future:
NACADA VISION
Recognizing that effective academic advising is at the core of student success, NACADA aspires to be the premier global association for the development and dissemination of innovative theory, research, and practice of academic advising in higher education.
NACADA MISSION
NACADA promotes student success by advancing the field of academic advising globally. We provide opportunities for professional development, networking, and leadership for our diverse membership.
NACADA STRATEGIC GOALS
As you can see, the future of NACADA is exciting and challenging as we all work together to reach these very important goals, driven by our vision and mission. Over the next year and a half, each unit in the association will begin serious conversations about how their work will align with our vision and mission, and what strategic outcomes they will develop and measure to achieve our goals.
I am also excited to tell you that the NACADA Leadership Development Task Force, appointed by President Smith and chaired by past Presidents Jennifer Joslin and Jayne Drake, is working strategically to identify how we best can recruit, train, and sustain the NACADA leadership so that we can be assured that the work we do is always focused on reaching the very highest achievement of our association’s mission, vision, and goals.
Please watch carefully over the next 18 months to see how we are moving along our new path and how each and every one of you can be a part of the exciting work we are doing on behalf of student success and our profession.
Charlie Nutt, Executive Director NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising (785) 532-5717 cnutt@ksu.edu
