Deborah J. Taub

Decision to Enter the Profession of Student Affairs

The purpose of this study was to consider factors that graduate students in masters degree programs in student affairs identify as influential to their decisions to enter the student affairs profession. A total of 300 masters students from 24 randomly selected graduate programs participated in the study. Relatively few differences were found between men and women or between traditional-age and older graduate students.

Bereavement and College Students: The Role of Counseling Psychology:

In this review article, the authors integrate the theoretical, empirical, and clinical literature relevant to the phenomenon of college student bereavement. They synthesize information on two theories of mourning that appear to fit well with the experience of bereaved college students with information about the developmental, cohort, and contextual situation of college students. They end the article with an integrated illustration and practical recommendations for counseling psychologists who work with bereaved college students in various capacities within higher education (e.g., administrators, clinicians, educators, and researchers).

Building Community on Campus: Student Affairs Professionals as Group Workers

This article describes the role of student affairs professionals in building campus community through work with natural groups such as residence halls, clubs and organizations, classes, and service-learning groups. Challenges to the creation of campus community are discussed. The Social Change Model of leadership development is highlighted as an example of a model for working with groups. In addition, other campus community-building approaches such as service learning, learning communities, and ceremonies, rituals, and traditions are described. The role of student affairs professionals as group workers and community builders—and the potential for their involvement in these approaches—is highlighted.

Developing skills in providing outreach programs: Construction and use of the POSE (Performance of Outreach Skills Evaluation) rubric.

Rubrics, commonly used in classroom assessment, can be beneficial in assessing the performance of counseling outreach and presentation skills. A rubric to assess how well graduate students in counseling learned and demonstrated outreach presentation skills was developed. The development of the rubric is described, along with results of the evaluation of the rubric. Suggestions for a variety of uses of rubrics in the college counseling center context, as well as in counselor education, are presented.

A Counseling Group for Children of Cancer Patients

Cancer affects not just the patient but also the entire family system. The effect of a parent’s cancer on young children in the family may lead to emotional distress and school problems. This article describes guidelines for a counseling group for elementary school children of cancer patients to be led by the school counselor and meet in the school. The purpose of this article is to provide the information necessary to implement such a group.

Promoting student development through psychoeducational groups: A perspective on the goals and process matrix

The purpose of this article is to provide a reaction to the Waldo and Bauman (1998 [this issue]) goals and process (GAP) matrix for groups article in terms of its usefulness to student development educators leading psychoeducational groups. To do so, the context within which student development educators do psychoeducational group work will be briefly described. Then, a perspective on applying the proposed matrix and problems with the proposed matrix will be provided.

Expanding Capacity for Suicide Prevention: The ALIVE @ Purdue Train-the-Trainers Program

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students (National Mental Health Association & The Jed Foundation, 2002), with 1 in 10 college students reported having seriously considered suicide in the previous 12 months (American College Health Association,2007). Although there is a need for consistent suicide prevention programming and training on college campuses (Kisch, Leino, & Silverman, 2005), providing campus-wide outreach and training may strain overwhelmed college counseling centers (Gallagher, 2009). One effective strategy for suicide prevention is gatekeeper training (Isaac et al., 2009;Tompkins & Witt, 2009). Gatekeeper training has been described as “a prevention strategy that improves detection and referral of at-risk individuals” (Tompkins & Witt, 2009, p. 134). A number of scholars (see, for example, Tompkins & Witt, 2009) have suggested that a particularly important group that should receive suicide prevention gatekeeper training in the college environment is resident assistants (RAs).

Mentor Relationships for Entry-Level Men in Student Affairs

Abstract This qualitative study examined the experiences of entry-level men in student affairs, with particular focus on the function of mentors and role models. Through semistructured interviews and a focus group, 22 participants shared their thoughts and experiences regarding mentorship. Results indicated mentorship to be instrumental in recruitment and retention of entry-level men. Findings also stressed the importance of ongoing mentorship, establishing mentoring relationships with male colleagues, and serving as a mentor to other men.

Media Review: Inclusion and Diversity: Meeting the Needs of All Students

Grace and Gravestock’s Inclusion and diversity: Meeting the needs of all students (2009) is a book that requires a great deal of translation on many levels to be useful to most student affairs professionals in the United States. Two primary issues give rise to the need for U.S. student affairs professionals to translate the book for their practice: the book focuses on classroom teaching and the book focuses mainly on higher education in the U.K.

Faulty Towers: Tenure and the Structure of Higher Education (review)

MAY/JUNE 2006 ◆ VOL 47 NO 3 359 heavy case loads, particularly large, bureaucratic judicial systems. And although the authors do not claim that it is, RJ is not a panacea for difficult student behaviors. I have some quibbles, some of which are borne out in the plentiful case studies. Often, those involved in cases could not secure the cooperation or involvement of community members affected by student behavior (e.g., friends, neighbors, parents). Desired long term outcomes are not always achieved, although that is certainly the case for traditional judicial affairs processes as well. I suspect some campus staff may be unwilling to participate and lack the skills to do so effectively. At a few points, statistics are used with no citation to support their origin. I am uneasy about some language choices. A footnote explains that the terms “offenders” and “victims” are used because that is the convention of criminologists. In practice, Karp explained, “respondents” and “harmed parties” are used. I wish they would have been used in the book as well. Indeed, RJ has strong roots in criminal justice as do the editors and many of the authors. My discomfort is likely a function of the uneasy balance between criminal justice and campus judicial affairs. They are distinct systems and should not be confused by students or others. The book should interest those contemplating new approaches to campus judicial affairs. Even if adopting a RJ program is unlikely, judicial affairs professionals will see their challenges represented here and find support for helping students consider the impact of their actions on the broader community. The book could be an excellent tool for professional development if staff used the case studies to discuss how a similar incident would be handled on their own campus, even if their judicial system is not based on RJ. And the Oles chapter could reinvigorate many, reminding us all of the tremendous potential of colleges and universities to educate students who will strengthen communities and inspire commitment.