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The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration, 2nd Edition
Margaret J. Barr, Mary K. Desler, and Associates (Editors)
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2000, 642 pp, $55.00 (hardcover).
The second edition of The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration, edited by Margaret J. Barr, Mary K. Desler, and Associates, represents a significant effort toward capturing the many facets of the exciting and rapidly changing landscape of student services in higher education. Supported by The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), The Handbook features work from some of the field's most prominent and respected leaders and researchers who have helped shape the past, present, and future of our profession. It is the perspectives of the authors over the last few decades as our profession has evolved that make this handbook a valuable resource to student affairs professionals on all levels from graduate student to senior student affairs officer.
The stated purpose of The Handbook is to help student affairs professionals answer these questions: "What are the skills, knowledge base and competencies I need to effectively confront the challenges of the future? What opportunities are available to me to continue to grow and develop as a student affairs professional? What are the issues facing higher education and student affairs?" (p. xxi) These questions are answered in the various chapters of the book, but depending on the foundation from which the reader is coming (student vs. new professional vs. senior officer), they may not be answered completely. Such is the challenge at hand when compiling a handbook designed to serve so many audiences both in terms of experience and professional training and backgrounds.
The book is organized into five sections. Four of these were found in the first edition with a change for one of the sections from "Acquiring and Developing Administrative Skills" to "Commitment to Professional Education." This change is significant given that the contents focus on our need as student affairs administrators to commit to our continued professional development. The chapters in section 4 speak to professional associations' role in professional education, staff development,...