ABSTRACT
Historically, student affairs came into existence largely because college presidents and faculty members did want to deal with what they perceived to be messy issues related to the lives of their students outside the classroom. Someone had to be responsible for regulating student behavior, discipline, and the myriad personal problems that always arose. Student affairs administrators’ initial function was basically to react to issues as they occurred and to put in place mechanisms to maintain order. Over time, the essentially disciplinary function of student affairs was broadened by the addition of responsibilities to operate facilities, provide services, and administer programs that were supplemental to the academic core. What enabled the student affairs profession to rise above its original narrow and rather negative role to become a vital partner in the higher education enterprise is vision. The profession has, since its beginnings, been blessed by generations of visionary leaders who realized that the field has a critical and unique role to play in facilitating student learning and development, a role that is vital to the academic mission of higher education (Nuss, 1996). This chapter discusses the process of visioning, how vision in student affairs is anchored in its history and core values, how vision is created and sustained, and how to use vision to address and anticipate the future.
