Welcome to the 2019-2020 Academic Year!
I’m honored to serve as your WACAC President, especially during such a crucial moment for our profession. I believe that Western has a role to play in restoring public confidence in the admission process, developing and supporting ethical professionals in the field, and centering access and equity for all students seeking to obtain higher education. In that spirit, your WACAC Executive Board worked hard to advance these goals throughout the summer.
The dust was still settling from our gathering in Phoenix when our new annual conference team – your Presidential trio, Executive Assistant, and new Conference Chair Keith Sanpei – began booking site visits for future WACAC events. We traveled to Long Beach in early July to prepare for 2020 (Save the Date: May 27-29!) and then visited a number of interesting Northern California sites at the end of the month looking towards 2021.
Several other committees were busy with WACAC work in between graduations and summer vacations:
- Our Membership committee, led by Amy Whipp Kruger (Chair) and Myra Castro (Technology Coordinator), successfully launched our new membership fee structure that includes free membership for public school counselors. They are happy to report that as of August 17, we have 350 public school counselors (currently 27% of our membership), which represents a huge increase over ’18-’19!
- The Nevada Interests committee, led by Yvonne Hicks, continues to work on expanding Nevada membership while also increasing WACAC offerings in the state. One highlight is a series of new college nights in Southern Nevada that will streamline what was formerly 50+ small fall programs in 12 coordinated events!
- The Government Relations committee, led by Maureen Chang, is working closely with our lobbyist in Sacramento to follow proposed legislation that resulted from the Varsity Blues scandal. One item generating much interest and concern is a potential state registry for Independent Educational Consultants. Our lobbyist has been instrumental in positioning WACAC to have a voice in the process, resulting in input that we hope will shape policy that does not unfairly burden ethical IECs.
- The Executive Board has also launched an IEC Ad Hoc committee to assess how best to serve IECs within the current structure, governance and committees of WACAC. Led by Chair Stacy Kadesh, stay tuned for future blog posts highlighting the members and work of this committee!
- The Professional Development committee, led by Marie Bury, began to transition ownership of the Summer Institute on College Admission and School Relations from College Board to WACAC in August. Special shout-out to Ed Devine for coming out of past-president retirement to spearhead this project.
Finally, your presidential team of Phil Moreno (President-Elect), Marc McGee (Past-President), and I traveled to Miami in July to attend NACAC’s Leadership Development Institute, and then to San Jose for our Executive Board Retreat. Both gatherings underscored the challenges and opportunities we currently have before us, and provided inspiration for our work in the coming year.
We hope to see WACAC members in Louisville for NACAC’s 75th Annual Conference! Prepare to receive updates on the NACAC CEO Search, vote on the newly revised membership model, and connect with colleagues from Western and across the country. Until then, best wishes for a strong start to a new year.
Warmly,
Lauren Cook
WACAC President