April 04, 2013

LC Campus NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program

The NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) Undergraduate Fellows Program is a semi-structured mentoring program for undergraduate students wishing to explore and better understand the field of student affairs and/or higher education.

What is NUFP?

The NASPA Undergraduate Fellows program is a semi-structured mentoring program for undergraduate students wishing to explore and better understand the field of student affairs and/or higher education. Students and mentors apply as a pair, and if selected are provided the foundation to establish a semi-structured mentoring relationship at their institution. Students, once selected, are known as Fellows, and are also given the opportunity to attend a national conference, participate in paid internships, and participate in the Summer Leadership Institute.

NUFP Mission

The mission of the NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program is to increase the number of historically disenfranchised and underrepresented professionals in student affairs and/or higher education, including but not limited to those of racial and ethnic-minority background; those having a disability; and those identifying as LGBTQ.

NUFP Program Elements

The following are the four main components of the National NUFP program.

On-Campus Mentorship

Fellows and their Mentors participate in an ongoing exchange designed to provide the Fellow with a chance to develop a sense of what a career in student affairs or higher education might be like.

Regional and Annual Conference Programming

Fellows are provided specific programming at NASPA’s annual conference, as well as many regional conferences. Small amounts of funds are available to help defray the cos of attendance.

Summer Internship

Fellows are offered the opportunity to apply and participate in a paid summer internship in student affairs or higher education, at an institution other than their own, as a means of broadening their experience base and their perspective on student affairs and higher education.

Dungy Leadership Institute

Fellows are invited to apply to and attend the Dungy Leadership Institute (DLI), a five-day workshop focused on skill building and career development. Formerly known as the Summer Leadership Institute and renamed after Executive Director Emeritus Gwendolyn Dungy in 2012, fellows have the opportunity to meet and interact with other Fellows and administrators from across the country, as well as student affairs administrators serving as institute faculty, at this event.

What is the LC Campus NUFP Program?

At Lewis & Clark we are expanding the NUFP to include many fellows and many mentors. On our campus, an administrator will coordinate the application submission process to the National office, as well as bring mentors and fellows across campus together.

You may participate in the LC Campus NUFP program even if you do not meet the national NUFP qualifications.

Our NUFP program will consist of bi-weekly or monthly meetings to promote and encourage dialogue around student affairs related topics.

We see the following benefits of our campus-based program:

  • Provides Fellows with a cohort-like experience amongst peers and current student affairs professionals
  • Allows Fellows to engage with other aspiring student affairs students
  • Ability for Fellows to build relationships with various student affairs professionals in and outside of their interest areas
  • Focused graduate school and career preparation
  • Potential scholarship funding for regional and/or national conference attendance
  • Networking opportunities with LC alumni serving in student affairs at other institutions

What’s the Process for joining the LC Campus NUFP Program?

Simply complete the NUFP application (linked to the right of this article) by APRIL 22nd and EMAIL an electronic copy to Tamara Ko (tko@lclark.edu) in the Dean of Students Office.

*Note this deadline is before the national deadline.  Our process will be to ensure your application is complete and assign you a mentor that matches your areas of interest.  If you have someone in mind that you’d like to ask to be your mentor, please note this on your application.