President’s Update
Patrick Walsh
IACAC President
Illinois State University
Halloween is here and that means we have almost made it through one of the busiest times in the world of Admissions. It has been a fast-paced and relentless fall season, but also an incredibly productive time for the organization. Since my last update in early September, the Executive Board and IACAC committees have been working on more than just our costumes. Let’s catch up on what’s been happening.
Over the course of a twenty-six hour period in mid-September, more than fifty committee chairs and Executive Board members participated in the IACAC Leadership Development Institute (LDI), Articulation Unplugged and the September Executive Board meeting. In nine short hours on Sunday, we received updates on the Leadership Manual and Strategic Plan, reflected individually on our “why”, and worked together as committee chairs and liaisons to plan for the year. Erin Hoover, IACAC’s talented new Communication Specialist, provided a very detailed communication outline and useful information and resources to aid committees throughout the year with their media communication needs. Hosting these meetings in Normal allowed the chairs and board members to familiarize themselves with the site of the 2019 Conference. In addition to staying overnight and touring the hotel, many participants explored Uptown Normal and its many shops and restaurants in the evening. I truly enjoyed connecting with IACAC leaders at LDI. I recognize how lucky I am to work with this group.
Our fun continued on Monday with a successful 2018 Articulation Unplugged. Another strong showing from our high school counselors across the state, in addition to over 100 colleges that participated in Articulation Unplugged. As part of this program, the Professional Connections Committee organized a ‘lunch and learn’ to promote the value of IACAC membership and #NormalinNineteen, a fun way to promote the 2019 annual conference location. ‘Lunch and learns’ were also organized at four other state articulation sites in early September to garner interest in membership. Finally, our second day together completed with an efficient two hour Executive Board Meeting. For all approved past board meeting minutes check out Meeting Minutes & Reports. Please note: the September meeting minutes will be posted after they are approved at the November 9th Executive Board meeting.
The end of September brought the NACAC Annual Conference in Salt Lake City. It’s always great to see so many familiar faces from Illinois. Past-President, Roberto Suarez, President-elect, Amy Thompson, and I arrived early to participate in the Affiliate Presidents Council meeting. We received important updates from NACAC on governance, participated in ongoing discussion about the proposed membership model and met with candidates for the NACAC Board. The Illinois general membership meeting on Thursday included updates from the IACAC cabinet and a welcome and NACAC update from Joyce E. Smith, Chief Executive Officer of NACAC. Please see the Admissions Essay article from Chief Delegate, Kim Wiley, on Assembly and NACAC membership meeting updates. Kim and delegates worked very hard this year and represented Illinois well in what was a spirited and long Assembly and NACAC membership meeting.
Before jumping into October, I want to thank all who participated in, organized, and volunteered for the Chicago National College Fair. All of you did a wonderful job! Speaking of college fairs, the new Illinois College Fair Committee (ICF) Chairs have been very busy, but found time a few weeks ago to meet with their committee to assess the fall fairs and plan for the spring; a mentorship meetup before the District 211 fair (my first in over ten years), the Conference Committee Chairs meeting at York High School and a dinner meeting with ICF Chairs rounded out my month with IACAC.
This last week of October will be full of application questions, transcript requests, letters of recommendations and last minute phone calls and emails. During this hectic time, I will try to remember why I have chosen to work in this field and how thankful I am for a supportive network of admission professionals who care about students. Oh, and if you did not have time to decide on a costume, let me know and Mary Poppins and Mike Wazowski will gladly help you out.
November, here we go!
