Prof. Marcia DevlinPresentation title: Personal Sustainability in Challenging Times: Ideas to Build Grit, Resilience and Optimism
Abstract
The theme for the 2021 ANZSSA conference is Student Centric, Looking Forward and Sustainable. As student services staff develop roadmaps to recovery during the ongoing pandemic, reshaping the ways services are delivered effectively and compassionately to students, sustainability for staff comes into sharp focus. Living through the pandemic themselves, while prioritising the support of others to flourish in their education during challenging times, the need for staff self-care has never been more important. Nor has the need to find ways to be optimistic about the future. This keynote will explore ideas around how student services staff and leaders might build personal grit, resilience, and optimism, while serving others. The health and wellbeing – and personal sustainability – of student services staff has never been more crucial than it is now
Bio
Professor Marcia Devlin is an internationally recognised expert in higher education and equity. She commenced her 30 year higher education career in student services as a language and learning advisor, before moving into learning and teaching leadership roles and then executive leadership positions. Marcia has served as Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Senior Vice-President at Victoria University; Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Education at RMIT University; and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Learning and Quality at Federation University Australia. She is also a registered psychologist with a keen interest in mental health, resilience and wellbeing.