Kathleen Kerr elected ACPA commission chair

Kathleen Kerr, director of UD's Office of Residence Life, and junior Mitch Masucci

12:52 p.m., March 27, 2006--Kathleen Kerr, director of UD's Office of Residence Life, has been elected chairperson of the American College Personnel Association's (ACPA) Commission for Housing and Residential Life. The announcement was made at ACPA's national convention held March 18-22 in Indianapolis.

The commission's primary responsibility within the 8,000-member ACPA is to provide leadership for student development in college residence halls. Kerr was elected to a two-year term.

"I hope to work with my housing and residence life colleagues from across the country to discuss innovative ways to better educate students and contribute to their overall out-of-classroom experiences," Kerr said. "One of the benefits of being a part of an ACPA commission such as this one is the ability to learn about practices on other campuses and share ideas. As commission chair, I'll work to find better ways for us to communicate with one another about these practices."

Residence halls are one of the primary settings for student development programs in colleges and universities.
Housing and residential life is one of ACPA's largest commissions and is actively involved in providing leadership in student development. Its objectives are to identify issues of concern and to try to resolve them, transmit the knowledge of experience and successful resolutions among ACPA members, communicate information, maintain relationships with other organizations, nurture professional development, develop a set of professional standards for residence hall staff and design a process for evaluating the work of the commission.

"It's important to me that the commission develop a structure and mechanisms for connecting the membership throughout the year. I have had the opportunity to work with some directorate body members exploring ways to increase involvement and communication, something that can only benefit those of us working in this profession," Kerr said.

After receiving her master's degree in education from Indiana University, Kerr joined the UD staff as complex coordinator for the Rodney Complex. In 1992, she was named coordinator for special interest housing, then area coordinator for east campus, and, in 1998, she was named assistant director of residence life. Soon after, she received a doctorate in educational leadership, and, in 2001, was named director of residence life.

Article by Barbara Garrison
Photo by John Cox

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