When the Student Services Council decided to establish a bi-annual newsletter, and incorporate in it a recurring feature article by one of the newsletter staff entitled “Board Talk,” I joked that it might be thought of as “Bored Talk.” I had concern that we student service professionals might quickly exhaust topics of interest and would spend the entire newsletter tooting our own horns and rehashing old ideas. Such has not been the case, however, and we continue to hear from our colleagues who wish to share exciting new initiatives happening in their schools. On the receiving end, there seems to be unbridled enthusiasm and curiosity about what opportunities exist for students, what students have accomplished, what goes on in the other schools and how these great ideas might be adapted for use in our own settings, thus improving the level of services that we all are able to provide our students.

Those of us who have been fortunate enough to be involved in the development of SOPHAS, as well as the ASPH Student Services Council and the Student Services Newsletter, frequently remark about the collaborative spirit of the student services professionals in the ASPH schools and the lack of overt competition. While we all shoulder varying degrees of responsibility for the numbers of applicants who enroll in our schools, the bottom line is that student service professionals are ultimately concerned with the quality of the student experience in their schools. This is what drives us. A convincing case could be made that a certain personality type selects student and academic administration as a career field and that this personality type strives to work with others rather than in competition to address relevant issues and brainstorm possibilities. This keeps the work that we do fresh and fun. While this might sound a little like the horn tooting to which I previously referred, I remind us all that we are only one of the columns holding up this successful structure. The other pillar is ASPH.

ASPH and its staff have worked with us each step of the way to achieve and maintain our goal – an ASPH council focused purely on students. Enough cannot be said about Alison Foster’s steadfast support of this group and her ability to facilitate its activities while simultaneously encouraging its members to take ownership. She is half field commander and half cheerleader, a rare combination, and she knows when to turn each side on and off for maximum effectiveness. Thank you to all of you at ASPH for making the activities of the Student Services Council possible.

As we begin our second year of this newsletter, we hope you enjoy the articles featured here and look forward to receiving your comments and suggestions for future newsletters. Please consider contributing articles about those noteworthy events happening in your schools. Have a great academic year!

Chris Tisch
University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health