Today, Caleb Craft joins us to talk about how we can partner with student affairs and the retention benefit it can bring. Craft currently is a pastor at Newlife OSU and works in student affairs at the Ohio State University.
Caleb Craft // Learning and Development Specialist at The Ohio State University & Pastor at NewLife OSU // @caleb_a_craft
Notable Points:
- How student affairs sees students.
- They see their department as a part of the education of students outside of the classroom.
- In a sense student affairs plays a quasi pastoral role in students lives.
- How can we work with student affairs?
- We need to respect the rules and expectations that they have in place if you want to have a good relationship.
- Student affairs may see interfaith events as a positive and achieving their goals for students.
- Meeting with the people at the office is a great opportunity to learn about expectations and how the whole system works.
- You may have more opportunity here than you think.
- How to build the relationship?
- Show them you are interested in student development and giving them responsibilities.
- Ask them what they would like to see out of the relationship.
- Love them.
- What do they look for in a partnership?
- They want the students to actually be in leadership positions and be involved.
- Don’t use students to get in the door. Student Affairs will see this as being dishonest.
- This will be difficult.
- Why is this important?
- This forces you to build student leaders who can help lead the next generation.
- This relationship can help give you access to facilities and funding.
- This can help build the reputation that you have on campus.
- You may be able to be involved in welcome and other campus events.
- Retention benefit.
- What to do if there is hostility?
- Ask if it is due to being Christ followers or due to you breaking the rules.
- Ask them if you are doing anything wrong or if you can be doing anything better.
- Social Change Model of Leadership
- Sociocultural conversations
- Mentorship
- Community Service
- Membership in an off-campus organization
- It’s all about communicating what we are doing in a way that is understandable.
Recommended Books
Confident Pluralism
Religious Pluralism in the Academy
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