Lessons from a Pandemic: The Value of Campus Activities Professionals - JCAPS Vol. 2 Issue 2

When someone in higher education pictures the "typical" work of campus activities, a variety of vivid images likely come to mind. Some may picture organizing a significant concert with students streaming into a large venue on campus. Or perhaps they think of coordinating historic campus traditions like Homecoming, where current and former students mix and mingle while attending a variety of parades, pep rallies, and events that promote institutional spirit and pride. There are, of course, many other examples of how campus activities professionals promote a lively and engaging campus environment. Still, many examples may be less known to those outside our profession – even if those individuals work on college and university campuses.

The most common perceptions of campus activities work, however, likely suggest that such work now plays a diminished role on campus, at least temporarily, and potentially long into the future. For example, it will probably be some time before individuals feel safe attending campus public events, both large and small, with any consistency. Given the realities of campus administration in a pandemic, how does the work of campus activities professionals contribute to their campuses during the COVID-19 crisis? As many institutions face significant and negative budgetary implications as a result, should campus activities be suspended? Eliminated? Should positions be repurposed to serve other campus priorities? In this piece, the JCAPS editorial board discusses the critical roles that campus activities professionals continue to play during the pandemic, including crisis management, student leadership development, and campus engagement support. Our central goal is to support campus activities professionals help their institutions survive and even thrive during this unprecedented global crisis.