For those considering the next step in their student affairs professional experience, the ACPA Mid-Level Management Institute (MMI) can be a great tool for future success. The MMI is a wonderful example of a partnership that aids our members by “[laying] the foundation for developing a highly qualified and effective person” (AFA, 2003). This is a main reason AFA’s Core Competencies for Excellence in the Profession was created. Co-sponsored by AFA and ACUI, the MMI gives mid-level managers from across the country a week-long opportunity to build a shared understanding of career and leadership development, budgeting, management and supervisory skills, and cultural issues.

As professionals who have advised fraternities and sororities for many years, we found the MMI very useful in helping us determine where we are now and where we want to be. At first, the varied experiences of the presenters and the participants representing different institutional types and areas of student affairs seemed quite disparate. However, it was the similarities in our challenges and successes that marked us as true colleagues. We were able to see past the surface differences of our regions, institutions and positions. We eventually understood that we could value and learn from each person’s experiences, and apply lessons to our own situation.

We found two aspects of the MMI especially important and valuable: career mapping and multicultural competencies. In the career mapping exercise we developed an action-oriented list of goals and planned how we would work toward those goals. Soliciting feedback from faculty members and other attendees was especially helpful as we developed our plans. We learned that our experience as fraternity/sorority professionals has been an excellent training ground for all areas of student affairs. We have dealt with risk management and judicial issues, budgeting and leadership training, as well as worked with a wide variety of campus cultures and problems. Whether or not fraternity/sorority professionals choose to stay with that area forever, we have learned that our jobs have provided significant and varied preparation for any area in student affairs. Those who want to ‘move up’ should note that several college presidents and many more chief student affairs officers were at one time fraternity/sorority advisors.

The session on multicultural competencies did not just teach us about ‘diversity,’ it helped us understand that there is a skill set and knowledge that can help us grow in this area, similar to AFA’s Core Competencies. It is not enough to simply tolerate differences; student affairs professionals should become effective advocates (if not experts) for various populations. For example, a straight white advisor can be a competent advocate for gay students of color. It takes a willingness to listen and learn, and to challenge one’s beliefs and stereotypes. The presenters made several recommendations for those willing to develop their multicultural competencies. They had three recommendations for us:  find ways to actually change the system or policies; become comfortable with the discomfort of disagreement and dissonance; and find a colleague who understands your journey and mission (Torres, V. & Howard-Hamilton, M., 2004).