Collaboration is the word of the day in the new book The Divine Comity edited by James Cook and Christopher Lewis. And if Dante only knew that his original writings would spur this kind of Student and Academic affairs development…

This book has assembled the writings of a number of Student Affairs leaders. Centered on the “Nine Circles of Academic and Student Affairs collaboration” (p. 3), the contributors discuss not only the philosophies of collaboration but also provide “success stories” that bring the concept of theory into reality for the reader.

Broad and Deep Information

While similar to a number of books in its discussion of the collaboration between academic and student affairs, the book is useful because of its breadth and depth of information on the subject. The first chapter of the book provides a solid foundation and gives a good overview of the “nine circles.” Each author provides a consistent message regarding the concept of collaboration, with each chapter incorporating specific examples as reinforcement. For example, John Schmidt’s discussion of Classroom-Residence Hall Continuity speaks to some of the same fundamental needs as Shenk and De la Teja do in the chapter on community college collaboration.

By including the nine circles, the reader is able to visualize the connections and find for themselves aspects that are useful. In chapter five Morales discusses the president’s leadership role within the collaboration process. According to the author, there is a need for both human and financial resources to be leveraged in order for the collaboration to be seen and felt as important on campus (p. 64).

Core Value: Assessment

One of the core values that each author references is assessment. From accreditation needs to an overall understanding of what happened, assessment creates the evaluative tool needed in higher education’s current state of limited funds and greater accountability. In chapter ten Sandi Osters provides current research and models that the reader can use to begin their discussions during collaboration. As done in most of the chapters in the book, the readers are given examples of best practices regarding the assessment process.

Equals: Academic and Student Affairs Professionals

A number of chapters in the book suggest that in order for the Student Affairs Professional to be viewed as a collaborator in the overall education of the student, they need to be equal in the eyes of the academic-side of the institution. Robert Caruso in chapter 6 offers fourteen tips for student affairs practitioners. (pp. 96-99) Of particular interest to this reader was the concept of teaching. Caruso states that “Whether it is an undergraduate course, freshman experience opportunity, or a graduate course in a college student personnel curriculum, take advantage of opportunities to teach. They provide a fresh perspective on student life issues, cast you in the role of educator, and establish credibility as a basis for partnership building" (p. 97).

It was pleasing to see the inclusion of two-year and community colleges on the subject of collaboration. The authors discussed a number of aspects including the history of community colleges (primarily focusing on California schools), and the student body composition that differentiates community colleges from baccalaureate conferring institutions. The urgency for collaboration is expounded when we look at the larger number of at-risk students and those needing remediation. Shenk and De la Teja also discuss the self-perception that many non-traditional students have at community colleges which flies in the face of the traditional “full-time” student and how this can impact success in college. All of this, of course, emphasized the need for faculty, student services and administration to come together and work for the education of the whole student.

Readers will appreciate the level of research that was done for this book. Publications such as Learning Reconsidered (Keeling, 2004) now have a better “how to” manual since the publishing of this book. Day-to-day uses for ideas covered in Learning Reconsidered make this book quite useful.

The book is available through NASPA Publications Department, by phone at 1-302-638-1749 or online at http://www.naspa.org/publications.

Reference

Student and Academic Affairs Collaboration: THE DIVINE COMITY. Editors, James H. Cook & Christopher A. Lewis. NASPA Publication, 2007.

 

---

About the Editors

James H. Cook, Ed.D.
Vice President of Student Services
Laramie County Community College
Cheyenne, Wyoming

James H. Cook is the Vice President for Student Services at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Dr. Cook has 18 years experience in student affairs and academic affairs administration as well as 16 years of experience teaching business courses on the university and community college levels. He earned his doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in Higher Education Administration, and his Masters and Bachelors degrees in Business Administration from Henderson State University. Jim may be contacted at jcook@lccc.wy.edu.

Christopher A. Lewis, Ed.D.
Assistant Campus Dean for Student Services
University of Wisconsin - Manitowoc
Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Christopher A, Lewis is the Assistant Dean for Student Services at the University of Wisconsin – Manitowoc, where he oversees all aspects of student services and enrollment management. Chris has 10 years of experience as a student affairs and academic affairs administrator and is the co-founder of NASPA's Student Affairs Professionals Working With and In Academic Affairs (SAPAA) Knowledge Community. He earned his doctorate from Eastern Michigan University in Educational Leadership, his Master's degree in College Student Personnel Administration from Miami University and his Bachelor's degree from Western Michigan University. Chris may be contacted at christopher.lewis@uwc.edu.

---

About the Reviewer

Jeff Meece
Assistant Campus Dean and Director of Student Services
University of Wisconsin - Marshfield/Wood County
Marshfield, Wisconsin

Jeff Meece is the Assistant Campus Dean and Director of Student Services at the University of Wisconsin-Marshfield/Wood County. His 14 years of higher education experience has been focused on two-year, public and private institutions. He holds a MS in College Student Personnel from Western Illinois University. And for what it’s worth he is a die-hard golfer.