Thank you for stopping by to learn more about the Commission for Student Involvement (CSI). Take some time to look through our content and don’t hesitate to share how you’d like to get involved. Use the menu below to jump to a section of interest.
Check out a past example of how you can engage with the CSI at Convention here: https://acpacsiguide.weebly.com
Please contact us at CSI@acpa.nche.edu or connect with the members of our Directorate Body with questions or ideas.
OUR mission
The Commission for Student Involvement enhances the knowledge and practice of educators working or interested in the areas of Fraternity and Sorority Life, Leadership Education and Development, Student Organizations and Activities, and Community Service and Service-Learning by providing access to networking, recognition, and professional development opportunities.
Our Vision
The Commission is the leading entity group in creating accessible educational resources for a community of scholar-practitioners to enhance the student experience.
Guiding principles
- Provide accessible educational resources to better enhance the student experience
- Release creative content on a consistent basis
- Professional home for scholar-practitioners
- Elevate services provided to college students
- Foster inclusive professional network of diverse experiences and identities
CSI HAPPENINGS
We are now accepting submissions for our bi-weekly CSI Newsletter! This publication showcases the work of professionals across the world engaged in fraternity/sorority life, leadership education, community service/service learning and student organizations and activities. Do you have a reflection on a program from your campus? Think you have a good practice for advising students? Tips for working with community partners? A job posting? All of these and more would make great Newsletter Submissions. This is also an opportunity to share writing samples with a broader audience and is a great entry way into publishing.
Please submit your content here.
For more information about our publications, please contact our Chair, Brittany Stanton
CSI BLOG: interchange
Supervision is Selfless: Four things to keep in mind when supervising Graduate Assistant
By Nneka Walson Coordinator for RSO Support, University of Tennessee - Knoxville Student Organizations & Activities Chair, Commission for Student Involvement Supervision in Higher Education does not follow a one size fits all model. Supervision deserves an...
The STAR Map Facilitation Guide: A Unique Approach to Fostering Student Leaders
by Kim Cleary (Community Engagement Program Manager, Montana State University) and Mark Dochterman (Assistant Vice Chancellor, University of Illinois - Springfield) As Black History Month (BHM) comes toward its end, your mind and your work may be entering an...
The current state of learning in HESA graduate preparation programs: Curricular developments from the last decade.
By Leslie Jo Shelton Chair, Commission for Professional Preparation Background I currently serve as the ACPA Commission for Professional Preparation (CPP) Chair. In this role, I got to meet other entity leaders at the St. Louis Convention where we formed...
Want to Be More Productive? Focus on Your Strengths, Not Your Weaknesses
By Anne Brackett Chief Engagement Officer, Strengths University Do you have WAY too much to do? Are there times when you think you’ll never get caught up? What if I told you there was a way to get more done in less time? Even more importantly, what if you could...
To Plan or Not to Plan
by Beth Hunter, Residence Life Coordinator - Leadership Engagement, Texas Tech University Elections Coordinator, Commission for Student Involvement I’m a planner by nature. I always have been and in some ways I probably always will be. As a kid I started...
Finding your groove during the mid-quarter slump
By Hanna Seferos Assistant Director of Academic Advising, University of Chicago - Harris School of Public Policy Vice Chair for Communications, Commission for Student Involvement There is a point each quarter (or semester), where I feel a bit of a slump. The...
Check out our upcoming webinars!
Upcoming CSI Webinar: The Impact of Recruitment Timing and Structure on Fraternity & Sorority Chapter Culture (Panhellenic and IFC)
Wednesday, October 26th, 11:00am EST
Meet the Directorate
The CSI has two leadership bodies within the Commission: Directorate Governing Board and the Leadership Team. The Directorate Governing Board, is the advisory body of the Commission and provides the long-term vision for the commission and works to ensure the Commission leadership is meeting the goals and vision of the Commission. While the Directorate Governing Board provides long-term visioning for the Commission, the Leadership Team is responsible for carrying out the day-to-day work of the Commission.
The dynamic structure of our Commission leadership – inclusive of our CSI Leadership Team and Directorate Governing Board – allows the CSI to provide ongoing professional development support to our members, while also focusing on our long-term vision for the CSI’s work to advance the mission and goals of ACPA.
Meredith Keating White
Past Chair
She/Her/Hers
Mercer University
Associate Director of Campus Life and Student Involvement
keatingwhite_me@mercer.edu
Tempris Daniels
Vice Chair
She/Her/Hers
The University of Chicago
Student Involvement Advisor
tedaniels@uchicago.edu
James Silay
Chief of Staff
Cortlyn Raymond
Vice Chair for Membership
Nick Dressler
Vice Chair for Social Justice and Inclusion
He/Him/His
Bates College
Assistant Dean for Campus Life
Lynne Miller
Vice Chair for Programs - Engagement and Convention Experience
She/Her/Hers
University of Pittsburgh
Coordinator, Student Organization Resource Center
Cokie Thompson
Vice Chair for Research and Assessment
She/Her/Hers
Louisiana State University
Coordinator, Leadership and Service
Leslie Cavin
Leadership Education Chair
She/Her/Hers
Western Carolina University
Assistant Director for Leadership
Nneka Walson
Student Organizations & Activities Chair
She/Her/Hers
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Coordinator for RSO Support
Liz Cadwell
Fraternity & Sorority Affairs Chair
She/Her/Hers
University of Minnesota
Assistant Director for Fraternity and Sorority Life
Mark Dochterman
Community Service and Service Learning Chair
He/Him/His
University of Illinois Springfield
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Engagement
Haleigh Zurek
Vice Chair for Programs - Webinars and Convention Social
She/Her/Hers
Marywood University
Assistant Director for Campus Programming
Hanna Seferos
Vice Chair for Communications
She/Her/Hers
University of Chicago
Assistant Director of Academic Advising
Serve on the Leadership Team!
Are you interested in getting more involved with the CSI and serving on the Leadership Team? Elections for all positions occur in November so be sure to check back for information on how to apply!
Get Involved
Membership is open to all ACPA members, whether they have student involvement responsibilities as part of their day to day jobs, or are just interested in learning more!
Ready to join?
Joining an Entity through the ACPA Member Portal automatically identifies you as a member of that Entity! You will begin to receive Entity communications through their respective email listserv and have access to any resources they share!
- Login to your ACPA Member Account
- Click on Community Groups (Chatter)
- Click Groups
- Click Active Groups
- Find the entity you want to join and within that group, click +Join
Contact csi@acpa.nche.edu, to learn more about ACPA’s Commission for Student Involvement!
Any ACPA member can become involved and there are varying levels of involvement:
- Access the syllabus clearinghouse and graduate prep program directory
- Have your students submit proposals for the writing awards
- Submit a proposal for a faculty research grant
- Review conference programs for the annual convention
- Review our writing award and research grant applications
- Submit a program proposal for the annual convention
- Get to know CPP at the annual convention:
- Attend Sunday night faculty social
- Attend CPP directorate meeting on Monday (open to all)
- Attend CPP Teaching & Learning Session and sponsored program
Volunteer opportunities
We have open volunteer positions for anyone interested in getting more involved with CSI this year! Volunteers work with a leadership team member on a project/initiative and have the opportunity to network/collaborate with the greater commission and ACPA community! It is a great way to contribute to the broader field of student affairs. The open positions include:
- Collective Community Program Coordinator
- Webinar Coordinator
- Interchange Coordinator
- Community Service and Service Learning Coordinator
- Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Coordinator
- Organizations and Activities Convention Experience Coordinator
- Organizations & Activities Programs Coordinator
Meet the 22-23 Volunteers
Beth Hunter
Elections Coordinator
Randi Maiers
Social Media Coordinator
Gabby Lloyd
Affinity Space Coordinator
Amy Everson
Awards Coordinator
Alexa Gerling
Volunteer Management Coordinator
Jacob Miner
Professional Development Coordinator
Kim Cleary
Community Service & Service Learning Convention Experience Coordinator
Bri Cross
Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Convention Experience Coordinator
Nikki Gotleib
Leadership Educator Convention Experience Coordinator
Ben Helms
Leadership Education Programs Coordinator
Csi Awards
Every year, the Commission for Student Involvement (CSI) recognizes dedicated Student Involvement professionals at convention. The open nominations process allows professions across the field to nominate themselves and others for recognition of their service. Please note that you do not have to be a current ACPA member to nominate or be nominated for the below awards.
Nominations for the 2023 ACPA convention are currently open and will close on December 9th.
The standing awards for CSI include:
The CSI Outstanding Program
The CSI Outstanding Program honors an innovative program conceived by the campus that exceeds programming expectations in one of the four functional areas (fraternity/sorority affairs, organizations/activities, service/service-learning, and leadership) of the Commission for Student Involvement. The award is based on student involvement, creativity and the success of the program, as determined by the achievement of the stated program goals. The recipient of this award will have their program highlighted in one of the Commission’s publications.
The 2022 Program of the Year is the Star Program at Sam Houston State.
The CSI Outstanding Graduate Student Award
The CSI Outstanding Graduate Student Award seeks to acknowledge an individual who has made a significant impact upon students, their department, and/or campus through specific initiatives or by way of their day-to-day interactions with others. The award also attempts to acknowledge regional and/or national participation in the field. The recipient of this award will be invited to write an article for Interchange, the Commission’s blog to highlight their work, personal experience in the field, and/or research.
The 2022 Outstanding Graduate Student is Clare Signorelli.
The CSI Outstanding New Professional Award
The CSI Outstanding New Professional Award seeks to acknowledge an individual who has made a significant impact upon students, their department, and/or campus through specific initiatives or by way of their day-to-day interactions with others. The award also attempts to acknowledge regional and/or national participation in the field. The recipient of this award will be invited to write an article for Interchange, the Commission’s publication to highlight their work, personal experience in the field, and/or research.
The 2022 Outstanding Graduate Student is Aml Mohamed.
The CSI Outstanding Professional Award
The CSI Outstanding Professional Award will be presented to a professional staff member. The recipient for this award will be featured in one of our publications in the upcoming year. The recipient of this award will be invited to write an article for Interchange, the Commission’s publication to highlight their work, personal experience in the field, and/or research.
The 2022 Outstanding Leading Professional is Lauren Shinholster.
The CSI Distinguished Service Award
The CSI Distinguished Service Award honors a professional staff member who has displayed exemplary service and commitment of time and energy to both the Commission for Student Involvement and the profession. The recipient has given outstanding service to the Commission, upheld professional standards showing integrity, and holds the esteem and appreciation of colleagues, students and peers.
The 2022 Outstanding Service to the Commission Award recipient is Meredith Keating White.
CSI Research Grant
In order to encourage research and scholarship in student involvement (including targeted research in the four functional areas the CSI oversees), the Commission for Student Involvement (CSI) will award one $500 research grant. Graduate students are especially encouraged to apply. Research question(s) must align with the various purposes and activities of the four functional areas of the CSI or their intersections (fraternity/sorority affairs, organizations/activities, service/service-learning, and leadership). Additional consideration will be given to research that brings a critical and/or social justice lens. Grant money can support research in the following ways: marketing, promotion, or incentives to attract participants; transcription assistance; travel for researchers; others as approved by the CSI’s Vice Chair for Research. Grant funds will be distributed through reimbursement and submission of expense receipts, due by December 1, 2022.