President’s Welcome

Welcome student leaders and professional advisors!

On behalf of CIVSA and its Board, I welcome you to Denver, Colorado for our 10th Student Development Institute. There is so much to look forward to and I have been counting down to hear from Eric Johnson, our keynote speaker. I am excited to experience a Denver ghost tour together on Friday night, and of course, this year’s Educational Programming slate is loaded with incredible opportunities for knowledge sharing.

CIVSA is an international association of higher education professionals who work in information and visitor services. I suspect the advisor(s) you traveled with would agree that you – our students – are the most important part of our roles.

This conference is dedicated to your success. I hope you can appreciate the opportunity to learn from each other. Embrace the spaces where you find your differences and enjoy the chance to learn best practices from organizations that are different from yours. As you consider the Educational Sessions available, don’t hesitate to split up and maximize your opportunity to learn from others.

Most of all, I hope you develop lasting friendships among the students you’ll meet. Spend time getting to know your peers. You never know which students (or professional advisors!) you’ll encounter in your work after graduation.

I am happy that you and your institution have chosen to invest in your students’ success. While this is a student conference, our conference committee has made sure advisor-specific learning opportunities are available.

If you’re not a CIVSA member, I hope you see the benefit of becoming one through our array of programming this weekend. Besides early access to SDI registration, CIVSA members also have access to virtual and archived educational resources year-round.

Lastly, I hope you’ll find opportunities to thank our SDI Planning Committee and subcommittee chairs for their hard work. I am so grateful for the dedication of Education and Programming chair Laura Galloway (University of Houston), Local Arrangements chair Katie Holdgreve-Resendez (University of Colorado Boulder), Publicity and Promotions co-chairs Kylie Rigdon (University of Tennessee) and Selena Walsh (Duquesne University), Spirit and Traditions chair Jonathan Gonzalez-Montelongo (California State University, San Bernardino) and Welcome and Volunteers chair Misty Sparrow (Eastern Michigan University). I want to give special recognition and a great deal of personal gratitude to Student Development Institute chair Maggie Keene (University of Tennessee, Knoxville).

While you are here, I look forward to meeting you one-on-one. Welcome to Denver, and welcome to the Student Development Institute!

Mel Baxter CIVSA President University of North Texas