were accepted as educational sessions offered at the CSPA-NYS conference.
Canisius graduate students and faculty-administrator Mark R. Harrington MS ’10, MS ’22, EdD recently secured top honors at the annual College Student Personnel Association of New York State Inc. (CSPA-NYS) conference.
CSPA-NYS is a comprehensive professional organization dedicated to fostering the development of educators, practitioners and scholars within higher education. This year’s CSPA-NYS conference theme was entitled “Racing Toward Transformation,” a clever title given the conference took place in Saratoga Springs, NY. The three-day event included a series of educational sessions, keynote presentations, and awards ceremonies to recognize outstanding higher education leaders and scholars in New York State.
Canisius students Shawn Johnson ’23, MS ’25, Philip Reuter MS ’25 and Katara Willis ’23, MS ’25, took advantage of the opportunity to compete in the conference’s annual Esther Lloyd-Jones (ELJ) Case Study Competition. Open to graduate students and new higher education professionals, the case study competition prompts participants with a scenario in which they must ascertain issues or concerns, identify stakeholders involved and suggest solutions via the implementation of relevant student development theories. Teams then present their case study analysis to a panel of judges and an audience.
After an outstanding presentation showcasing a theory-to-practice approach to identity solutions and a path forward for the case study, the Canisius team was announced as winning 1st place.
In addition to the 1st place win by the Canisius student delegation, CSPA-NYS conferred its most prestigious honor, “The Distinguished Service to the Profession Award,” upon Dr. Mark Harrington. Harrington is assistant vice president for student success at Canisius University, director of the college’s master’s program in HESAA, and an assistant professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Leadership. The “Distinguished Service to the Profession Award” honors a professional with more than 10 years of experience who has contributed considerably to the higher education profession. The awardee must have made extensive efforts to impact change in higher education in the State of New York through their work, mentorship, scholarship, research, consultation, presentations and/or other involvements.
As assistant vice president, Harrington leads student success and retention efforts with oversight of academic achievement, career development, tutoring services, study center, success and career coaching, veteran affairs, student accessibility services, Pathfinders: academic exploration program, and NCAA Division I student-athlete academic affairs. He also is an elected faculty member on the Academic Program Board, serves as co-chair of the university-wide Retention Committee, and is the founding co-advisor to Delta Gamma chapter of Tri-Alpha, the national first-generation honor society.
Click here to read more about the awards conferred upon Harrington and the Canisius students.
Submitted by: University Communications
