Western makes good showing at Regional Research Conference

Western Washington University is well represented at this week's Western Region Research Conference on the Education of Adults, which is being held at Seattle University through Saturday, Oct. 5.

Western’s Dean of Students Ted Pratt, Director of Student Activities Kevin Majkut, and a team of staff from Enrollment and Student Services are presenting on student leadership, student activities and ethics in higher education. Students co-present as well.

The conference is a forum for practitioners and researchers to present research and to learn, debate, explore ideas, collaborate and talk with each other. Nearly a third of the sessions are devoted to topics on college student learners.

Pratt, the ethics officer for Enrollment and Student Services, and Christina Van Wingerden, a WWU Continuing and College Education graduate student, are presenting on ethics in student affairs, which include the methodological approaches to ethics assessment, climate research and ethics training that has occurred in the ESS division.

Majkut, Van Wingerden and student Sara Richards (AS Board 2011-12, AS Personnel Director 2012-13, Western Leadership Scholar 2009-10) will discuss a comprehensive assessment of what WWU college students learned serving on AS/VU hiring committees for student job openings.

Joanne DeMark (LEADS program – Western’s Leadership Advantage), Amy Appleton (Academic Advising), and Olga Antonio (Residence Life) are providing a view of the character strengths of first-year Western Leadership Scholars. Additionally, DeMark and Van Wingerden are reporting on research of the leadership capacities of Western’s paraprofessional student leaders across the ESS division (Associated Students leaders, Residence Life student leaders, recreation center and sports clubs student leaders, peer health educators, academic student advisors and tutors, student outreach services student peer mentors, orientation student advisors, admissions student representatives, outdoor center guides and EDGE facilitators, Ethnic Student Center club leaders, VU student employees and Western Leadership Scholars).

Jared Ibarra, human services major, ESC club leader and Western Leadership Scholar 2010-11, is joining CCE faculty Deb Nelli and student Giovanni Miller to report on what multicultural students “know” about Graduate School.

For more information about any of the above ESS presentations and presenters, contact the Dean of Students unit at 360-650-3450.