Current Campus Context: One Year In—What Changed, What Didn’t

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One year into a new federal administration, the January 2026 installment of Current Campus Context examines what has actually changed for colleges and universities—and what has quietly reshaped campus life beneath the headlines. Heather Shea is joined by Dr. Brendan Cantwell and Dr. Crystal Garcia to explore federal power and institutional response, heightened ICE presence and campus climate, and how bluster, austerity, and silence are redefining institutional priorities. Together, they reflect on what these shifts mean for student affairs professionals navigating uncertainty, care, and purpose in 2026.

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Radical Reimagining for Student Success in Higher Education

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Radical Reimagining for Student Success in Higher Education argues that the time for incremental reform in higher education has passed and that colleges must transform their cultures, structures, and leadership models to truly center student success. They center the question, “What would our institution look like if students really mattered?” Join the editors as they discuss reframing cultures, practical steps, scalability, and how to be "hard on problems, but easy on people."

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Rethinking Mentoring: From Personal Care to Collective Change

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In this episode of Student Affairs NOW, host Heather Shea is joined by a powerful group of scholar-practitioners to explore mentoring and community-driven solutions in higher education. Recorded as an extension of a compelling panel from the ACPA–ASHE Presidential Symposium, the conversation examines mentoring as both a deeply personal act of care and a collective strategy for sustaining individuals, strengthening communities, and driving institutional change. Together, the panel reflects on how identity and positionality shape mentoring relationships, how culturally responsive practices foster more inclusive and affirming connections, and how community partnerships and collective approaches can expand the impact of mentorship beyond one-to-one models. This episode invites listeners to consider how mentoring rooted in care, justice, and joy can be transformative—for people, programs, and the field of student affairs.

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Transformative Coaching for Faculty and Staff in Higher Education

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Transformative Coaching for Faculty and Staff in Higher Education argues that a coaching approach can be a deeply human, ethical, and relational practice that can re-energize the people who make higher education work. In this conversation, we discuss what coaching is and isn't, what this approach can look like across higher education, and especially within student affairs work in these times.

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Here’s the Story: “Holding on to Possibility”

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From Monday through Friday, 9–5, we see the forward-facing journey of leaders—the wins, the awards, the praise. What we don’t often talk about is the journey beneath the surface: the real life, the day-to-day internal dialogue, and the quiet battles no one applauds. This is a conversation about resilience without romanticizing it—about strength alongside exhaustion, and the gap between how leadership looks and how it actually feels. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re the only one holding it together while carrying so much, this episode is for you. 

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