President’s Update – June 2020
Greetings PASFAA Members!
Nearly every aspect of normal life has been affected by the spread of coronavirus and its associated disease, COVID-19. Businesses of all different sizes and industries of all different sorts have been significantly impacted. Its effects on colleges and universities are multifaceted and quite complex. Whether it is in the area of applications and admissions, tuition, student loans or teaching, COVID-19 is making a substantial, and perhaps, lasting impression on colleges and universities.
As PASFAA continues to adapt, educate and respond to these new challenges, Executive Council has made the difficult decision to move the annual conference to a virtual platform. Our dedicated volunteers on this council are committed to the safety of our members as well as our mission to provide professional development. We have a talented and creative team that will lead the way in providing a “first of its kind” PASFAA Conference in October 2020.
The Don Raley Institute (#DR2020) will be our first test in providing professional development and social enrichment in a virtual environment. Melissa Ibanez, Don Raley Chair, has talented faculty who are dedicated and excited to pioneer this platform. Registration is still open for the week of June 22nd thru the 26th. Please visit https://www.pasfaa.org/committees/pfat/don-raley-institute/ for more information.
PASFAA lives, breathes and thrives due to the volunteers who dedicate time, passion and energy into providing professional development, social networking, information sharing, best practices, etc. It is truly inspiring to be associated with the PASFAA members and volunteers I have had the pleasure to meet and work with in the past 2 years.
Please consider volunteering your time to PASFAA when the announcement for elected council position openings is released or when there is a call for committee chairs and members. You can research the various volunteer opportunities on the PASFAA website in the Policies and Procedures Manual (PPM) at https://www.pasfaa.org/governing-documents/policies-and-procedures-manual/
Friends and colleagues I will leave you these 2 quotes regarding volunteerism during a difficult time in our nation’s history:
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
“Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Peace. Stay Safe. Stay Healthy.
Shane Himes
President, PASFAA
Director of Financial Aid
Saint Francis University
