Student affairs professionals have what it takes to lead students, staff through challenges of pandemic

Abstract

W hen college campuses felt the impact of the pandemic, student affairs professionals tapped into their extensive, on‐the‐job training in crisis management. Before the COVID‐19 crisis, they knew to expect the unexpected, frequently working behind the scenes to successfully manage crises. And that experience helped prepare student affairs professionals to lead students and staff through the pandemic, said Angela E. Batista, Ed.D., Certified Executive and Design Coach, and Founder and CEO of Batista Consulting Services, LLC​, and former Vice President of Student Affairs and Institutional Diversity and Inclusion at Vermont's Champlain College. “There's a sense of comfort, knowing how to deal with a crisis,” she said. But this time was different, of course. “It usually doesn't happen in such a fish bowl,” noted Batista, also the 2020–2021 NASPA Board Chair.