Alfred University vice president to chair regional conference

Kathy Woughter, vice president for Student Affairs at Alfred University, has been named chair of the 2012 National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) region II conference, “Breaking New Ground,” to be held in Buffalo June 10-12.

NASPA is the largest student affairs professional organization, one the University has been affiliated with for many years, Woughter explained. Region II encompasses the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, DC, and West Virginia. Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Canal Zone are part of the region as well.

“I am especially excited about our keynote speakers, who are very well-known in our field,” said Woughter.

Speakers include: 

Marcia Baxter Magoda, distinguished professor of Educational Leadership at Miami University of Ohio. She teaches student development theory in the Student Affairs in Higher Education master’s and doctoral programs.  Her work examines the evolution of learning and development in college and young adult life.

Peter Magoda, also a professor in Miami University of Ohio’s Student Affairs in Higher Education program.  His research focuses on ethnographic studies of college students.

Don McPherson, a Syracuse University graduate who set 22 school records as a quarterback and who was a candidate for the Heisman Trophy. He played professionally for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Houston Oilers of the National Football League, then play in the Canadian Football League for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Ottawa Rough-Riders.  Now a college football analyst for several networks, McPherson focuses on how athletics can be “positive, proactive and practical” influences in students’ lives.

McPherson presented at an anti-hazing forum at Alfred University in 2005.

Vice president for Student Affairs at Alfred University since 2004, Woughter had previously been the director of the Career Development Center at the University. She worked in Residence Life and was the men’s swimming coach at Alfred State College from 1990-1996.

She holds a master’s degree in counseling from Alfred University, and a bachelor’s degree in biology and secondary education from Geneseo State College.

Woughter has served as a six-year member of the board of directors of the Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce, including a two-year term as its president, and is currently the AU representative to the Hornell Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of the advisory board of the Alfred 21^st Century Group and serves on the Alfred Alive economic development group.  She is also active on the Health Impact Council for the Allegany County United Way.

She and her husband Bob, also an alumnus of Geneseo and Alfred, are the parents of two teen-age sons, Zach and Dan.