UCR Student Affairs Administrators Earn Honors From NASPA
Nancy Jean Tubbs with Naddia Palacios
UC Riverside was among seven campuses honored by Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, or NASPA, with the organization’s Grand Gold Excellence Award for the groundbreaking T*Camp initiative. Established in 2011-12 by co-founders including UCR’s LGBT Resource Center, T*Camp brings together transgender and gender-questioning college students for an intercampus retreat.
“We average over 100 college-student applications annually to attend T*Camp,” said the program’s co-founder Nancy Jean Tubbs, director of UCR’s LGBT Resource Center, who accepted the award during NASPA’s Annual Conference in March. “The need is so high that we split into two annual retreats for Southern and Northern California campuses.”
About 55 students from an average of 18 campuses are invited to attend the Southern California retreat each January, Tubbs added. Among other aims, the three-day program encourages students to explore their own gender identity and expression, connect with peers, access resources and support, consider the value of self-care and wellness, and develop a deeper understanding of the impact of transphobia and intersections of oppression.
NASPA’s Awards of Excellence recognize programs that promote inclusive, global, and diverse college and university communities and environments. Other T*Camp co-founders sharing the win with UCR include Cal Poly Pomona, Chapman University, Pomona College, UC Irvine, UCLA, and UC San Diego.
Also earning recognition for UCR was Naddia Palacios, director of the program CARE (Campus Advocacy, Resources & Education), who was selected as the recipient of the 2018 Doris Michiko Ching Award for Excellence as a Student Affairs Professional. The honor recognizes midlevel student affairs professionals who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to the student affairs profession by creating environments that promote student learning and personal development.
-Tess Eyrich
SOM Counsel Chosen for Leadership Development Program
Tamala Choma ucr
Tamala Choma, senior counsel for the School of Medicine, has been selected to participate in the Academic Medical Centers and Teaching Hospitals Practice Group Leadership Development Program for the American Health Lawyers Association. The program develops leadership skills through participants’ observation, interaction, and participation in projects with current leaders. The one-year service term begins July 1.
