VPSA & AVP Colleague Conversation: The Student Affairs Career Ladder: Is the Next Rung or Two Visible?
Includes a Live Web Event on 04/16/2026 at 4:00 PM (EDT)
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Phil Covington (Moderator)
Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Dr. Covington has been with UNMC since 2017, originally serving students at both UNMC and the University of Nebraska at Omaha through a dual appointment. Since July 2020, his leadership has been focused exclusively on the UNMC Division of Student Success.
He serves as a member of the VPSA and AVP Colleague Conversation Planning Committee and also currently serves NASPA as the co-chair of the Administrators in Graduate and Professional Student Services Knowledge Community and as the founder of the Student Affairs in Academic Health Sciences Network. He was named a 2025 NASPA Pillar of the Profession.
Dr. Covington has more than 25 years of experience in student affairs and enrollment services as a leader. His previous roles include senior director of student life, assistant dean, associate dean and dean of students, serving seven public universities in five different states with student enrollments ranging in size from 1,400 to nearly 16,000, including UNO and the University of South Dakota.
Mary Blanchard Wallace
Assistant Vice President for Student Experience
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Darryl Lovett, EdD
Director of Staff Experience for Student Affairs
Florida State University
Earl Cabellon
Director of Staff Experience and Culture
University of Maryland
Danny Pape, MSE
Executive Director of the Center for Career Engagement
Washington University in St. Louis
Dale Scully
Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Engagement, and Wellness
University of Minnesota Crookston
Career advancement in Student Affairs has long been framed as a ladder—but for many professionals today, the next rung feels increasingly difficult to see, understand, or pursue. As senior leadership roles grow in complexity and pressure, colleagues at the Director and AVP levels are asking important questions about preparation, sustainability, and whether advancement aligns with their values and lived realities.
This dialogue-centered conversation will briefly ground participants in key themes from Centering the Student Affairs Workforce, NASPA’s white paper focused on workforce wellbeing, sustainability, and the future of the profession. Members of the committee who contributed to the white paper will join the session as conversation partners, helping to connect the report’s insights to lived leadership experiences and career pathways.
Together, participants will explore how pathways to AVP and VPSA roles are communicated, modeled, and supported; the narratives we tell about senior leadership; and the structures that shape—or obscure—career visibility. Rather than offering prescriptive answers, this session creates space for honest reflection, shared learning, and collective responsibility for making the next rung—or two—more visible, transparent, and attainable.