Cal State San Bernardino executive director of Housing and Residential Life, John Yaun, has been elected to serve on the board of Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (formerly the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) as the national chair of Student Affairs Partnering with Academic Affairs Knowledge Community.
Yaun’s official term as National Knowledge Community chair is a two-year appointment that will begin in March 2017. He will begin a year-long term as National KC chair-elect this March, serving in a critical leadership role to provide opportunities for NASPA members to access information related to its own Knowledge Community.
“I am honored and excited to have been selected by NASPA to be a part of the Student Affairs Partnering with Academic Affairs Knowledge community,” said Yaun. “I hope to use this opportunity to further the strategic goals of SAPAA while advancing the collaboration and connections between student and academic affairs and how these partnerships will advance student learning and success on our campuses.”
As executive director of Housing and Residential Life, Yaun has led and supported collaborative efforts toward making a positive, purposeful difference in students’ lives. He has created many student-centered initiatives, including the CSUSB Faculty-in-Residence, a new sustainability plan, the First-Year Experience and the Sophomore-Year Experience programs for 2017. The FYE is designed to meet the academic and developmental needs of first-year students to live in the residence halls together and give them increased opportunities for mentoring, networking and programming that helps facilitate a successful first year in college.
In 2005, NASPA awarded him the Excellence Gold award for his program on The Information Technology Residential College at Louisiana State University. The program provided first-year students with training and intensive practice in computer applications in a supportive academic and social setting. The Excellence Award is given to members who are transforming higher education through outstanding programs, innovative services and effective administration.
“The professional development of our members, the pursuit of scholarly research and publication, and pursuing opportunities for increased collaboration between students and academic affairs will be continued priorities,” Yaun said. “I accept this leadership position with gratitude and a desire to continue the good and purposeful work of SAPAA and NASPA.”
NASPA has always been a part of Yaun’s career; he was co-editor of Synergy, a NASPA publication, a reviewer on the NASPA program committee, and served on the SAPAA Communications Committee in 2010.
Yaun earned a master’s degree in humanities from Louisiana State University and his doctor of education in leadership studies from Marshall University. He has taught courses in public and private institutions on numerous topics, including the Holocaust, genocide, anti-Semitism, and student leadership.
NASPA is the leading association for the advancement, health and sustainability of the student affairs profession. It serves a full range of professionals who provide programs, experiences and services that cultivate student learning and success in concert with the mission of the colleges and universities.
Established in 1918 and founded in 1919, NASPA is comprised of more than 15,000 members in all 50 states, 25 countries, and eight U.S. Territories.
Set in the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, CSUSB is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in inland Southern California. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015-2016, CSUSB serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually.
For an electronic image of John Yaun or for more information about Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.