Congratulations to Joe Thomas, associate vice chancellor for student affairs, who was recently elected president-elect to NODA, the Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education, formerly known as the National Orientation Directors Association.
He will serve year one as president-elect, year two as president and year three as past president. Thomas has been involved in NODA since 2009 and has served in various leadership roles throughout his tenure, including two terms on the board of directors, a regional conference host,Ìýand most recently as the chair of a committee that designs professional development courses to grow members’ skill sets in the competencies of orientation, transition and retention. Thomas’ doctorate in curriculum and instruction has helped him to lead the instructional design of these courses to ensure members are transitioning students as effectively as possible at their institutions.
In his role as president, Thomas is focused on implementing NODA's recently approved strategic plan through developing measurable outcomes that increaseÌýaccess of members to the vital development needed in the best practices of orientation, transition and retention. This development of members allows them to take new knowledge and skills back to their campuses to serve students more strategically, improving retention and graduation rates.
Thomas has been in his current role at ²ÊÃñ±¦µä as associate vice chancellor since 2021, with aÌýfocus on Student Transitions and Academic Partnerships. He has more than 14 years of experience in higher education. Thomas also serves as a co-chair of the First Year Experience Advisory Board and one of four leads on the Buff Undergraduate Success team.
