Rejecting outright the Student Affairs “Legend” title we ascribed to her, Susan Jones joins us to discuss her career as an award-winning professor, prolific author, and valued mentor to many in the profession. Listen in as she shares her hopes and fears for our future and the future of student affairs and higher education. BTW, we stand by our description of Dr. Susan R. Jones as a legend.

Continue reading

There is limited scholarship on Indigenous college students which reflects why finding belonging, engagement, and sovereignty is challenging for Indigenous students. Amanda Tachine is brilliant and uncompromising in her critical examination of what causes harm and the systemic barriers that make it difficult to create meaningful change in higher education. This episode will highlight the struggles and strengths of Native students and offer a path forward for colleges and universities to connect with these students in meaningful and Indigenous-centric ways.

Continue reading

Despite their overwhelming success in higher education, Black women continue to be devalued, discriminated against, and harmed by the colleges and universities where they work or attend school. Their unique standpoints, epistemologies, and praxis have always challenged the standard white hegemony of higher education and yet never before in higher education have we had a text that highlights, explains, and uplifts the unique intersectional perspectives of Black women as scholars, activists, teachers, and leaders.

Continue reading

Student development theories and frameworks are foundational to the student affairs professions; however, there have often been concerns about their applicability to and effectiveness with marginalized college students.

Continue reading

Trauma is omnipresent in the lives of college students despite receiving limited attention in student affairs literature. Whether sexual assault and intimate partner violence, campus shootings, or racial trauma, many students arrive on our campuses and have either experienced trauma before arriving or while in college. It is critical for student affairs professionals to increase their understanding of trauma and its effect on the mental health and well-being of students.

Continue reading

The term “anti-racism” has become part of the everyday lexicon in the media, organizations, schools, and higher education. Unfortunately, for many individuals and organizations, this has simply involved replacing the word diversity with the word anti-racism. What is really needed is for white individuals to more deeply understand their role and responsibility in first evaluating their identity, privilege, and power and then committing to creating anti-racist cultures, campus environments, and structures.

Continue reading

Dr. Carlton Green talks with host Raechele Pope about how racism often manifests in a culture of nice in higher education where white individuals hesitate to discuss race and racism openly and directly thus reinforcing long standing harms and racial trauma for people of color. Fear of being called racist often becomes more important than the fear of actually acting in racist ways. They also discuss how to move beyond the culture of nice in student affairs and higher education.

Continue reading

The rise in the number of young people who identify as biracial or multiracial presents college campuses with an opportunity to expand their racial understanding to better serve this growing population and become more inclusive in the process. Improving the college experience for multiracial students will require modifying existing student data-collection methods and providing better resources and support to ensure their inclusion.

Continue reading

College student mental health and well-being is a priority across the United States because of the growing demand and increasing severity of mental health concerns (i.e., rising anxiety, depression, and suicidality) on campus. Many college and university counseling centers have waiting lists and struggle to meet the needs of all students. Additionally, many students are struggling but not reaching out for help. These challenges have led to innovation and re-imagining the most effective ways to meet the mental health needs of college students. Student affair professionals are well-positioned to play an important role in addressing this campus challenge because of their extensive contact and relationships with students.

Continue reading