DOSA Professional Development
The Division of Student Affairs (DOSA) provides a variety of professional development resources and opportunities for its members to advance their knowledge and learning in order to enhance their work promoting student learning and success. Following is a summary of these opportunities:
Calendar
A full calendar of DOSA professional development opportunities can be found on the RamConnect events calendar. You are encouraged to review these dates and add sessions of interest on your calendar.
DOSA Meetings
Student Affairs holds a monthly meeting for the entire Division. Folks from all levels of the organization, including graduate assistants and support staff, should make every effort to attend. These are opportunities to network, share information, as well as present developmental topics that are relevant to all.
End-of-Semester/Year Celebrations
At the end of each semester, the Student Affairs community comes together to engage in fellowship, celebrate our accomplishments, and thank our partners outside of the Division who have collaborated with and supported our work.
First Friday Networking Lunch Series
On the first Friday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., staff are invited to purchase or bring their lunch for informal networking and fellowship. DOSA members are welcome to invite University colleagues. A member of the Division will always be on hand to host and direct folks.
GOLD Conference
The DOSA GOLD (Grow Observe Learn Develop) Conference showcases and celebrates the
programs and scholarship our divisional and campus colleagues are engaged in currently.
This is a space for dialogue around our divisional learning outcomes, how they connect
to our work and development as professionals, and apply to our work with students.
2021 GOLD Conference Sessions YouTube Playlist
Lunch ‘n’ Learn Series
These sessions provide opportunities to dialogue about developmental topics in a small and informal setting. Folks are invited to bring their lunch and engage with their colleagues around the subject. Recent topics have included Leading Up, Professional Organization Involvement, Self-Care, and Leading as an Introvert. Please contact the professional development committee if you have a topic you would like to facilitate.
Onboarding Resources & Orientation
This includes resources related to acclimating new staff to the institution, Division, and local area. There are also resources for supervisors to help in transitioning new staff to their areas. These documents live on the Student Affairs Sharepoint site and should be shared with new staff by their supervisors upon hiring. A DOSA new staff onboarding session will also be held once a semester for all new DOSA employees.
Retreats
Staff retreats, typically held between semesters, occur at all levels of the Division to promote reflection, goal setting, education, and team building. Recently, directors and senior leaders spent the day at the Dream Park Equestrian Center in NJ and learned lessons about relationship building through interactions with a horse. We also had the entire Division engage in Anti-Racist and Bias Training with the Melanated Educators Collective.