College of Education & Human Services

College Student Personnel Program to Celebrate 50th Anniversary

The year 2020 will mark the 50th anniversary for the College Student Personnel program at Western Illinois University. Established in 1970, the CSP Program has graduated over 1,000 alumni. As 2020 gets closer, we are anticipating big celebrations with alumni all over the world! The 50th anniversary celebration takes place throughout the 2020-2021 school year and celebrates the opening of the program, as well as the first graduating class of 1971. In order to effectively celebrate with our alumni, we will need alumni volunteers to serve as 50th anniversary ambassadors. For more information about the anniversary and ways to get involved, please contact csp@wiu.edu.

As we reflect on the past 50 years of hard work and dedication to student services, Dr. Tracy Davis wanted to share a few words about the history of the program and a vision for the future.

First Rocky

Dr. Storey and his young family were the proud parents of the 1st Rocky at WIU!

Like many student affairs programs across the nation, the WIU College Student Personnel program began in the early 1970’s. The program gained its footing within the counselor education program, according to Dr. Tracy Davis, as a “movement to focus on specific issues of student affairs work at the higher education level” influenced by values of helping others. The higher education community was beginning to see that in order to effectively address student affairs issues at the college level, a budding practitioner needed a different training than that of a counselor at the K-12 level, and thus the program was born. Past faculty members who played a large part in establishing the program were Dr. Storey and Dr. Sproul, both who were members of the counseling education faculty.

The theory-to practice-value is the heart and soul of our program, regardless of cultural shifts in higher education, we will not move away from that.

-Dr. Tracy Davis

Many of the early program values still remain central throughout our program today. The founding program administrators and faculty made an early decision to build bridges with student affairs services personnel across campus which lead to our theory-to-practice approach. This value was, and continues to be, a cornerstone of the program. According to Dr. Davis: “The theory-to practice-value is the heart and soul of our program, regardless of cultural shifts in higher education, we will not move away from that”.

Over the years, the College Student Personnel program has been fortunate to have had several notable faculty members both past and present, helping us stand out as a top student affairs program. Some names you might recognize are: Dr. Nancy Evans, Dr. Dea Forney, and Dr. Tracy Davis. Evans (1999), Forney (2008), and Davis (2013) are each past recipients of the Senior Scholars Award from ACPA: College Student Educators International. Dr. Evans has also received The Contribution to Knowledge for ACPA award, a very distinguished honor.

We continue to give supervisors of entry and mid-level professionals what they are looking for in their new hires -- and in terms of competencies, and we continue to produce high-quality professionals.


-Dr. Tracy Davis

When asked what the program’s greatest achievement has been over the years, Dr. Davis responded, without hesitation, “Our alumni and the significant contributions they make at their institutions, and for their students”. He added that our program should be proud “that we continue to give supervisors of entry and mid-level professional what they are looking for in their new hires -- and in terms of competencies, and we continue to produce high-quality professionals”.

The CSP program continues to grow and adapt to meet the needs of the field and the those working in the field. One notable achievement was the introduction of our new CSP: Higher Education Leadership track. This track differs from the well-established CSP: Student Affairs option in that it works to serve current student affairs professionals, allowing them to earn their Master’s degree through part-time enrollment and in a hybrid style program (25% face-to-face and 75% online). Once the degree is earned many of these current professionals will have the skills, knowledge, and experience to advance smoothly from entry to mid-level positions within the higher education sector.

Whether you are a graduate of our program, a current student, a field placement supervisor, or a past or present faculty member, you have been a part of this proud tradition. Over the past 50 years, the program has shown immense growth and achievement, building a stellar reputation among professionals as a great place to learn about the world of student affairs.