While diversity leaders exist at all administrative ranks and levels across both academic and student affairs. Today’s episode focuses on the senior diversity officer role. Often a senior administrator or vice president or chancellor, the senior diversity officer often wears a number of significant hats.

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The guests on this episode move beyond restorative justice in campus conduct processes to talk about the proactive and responsive ways higher education can utilize restorative philosophy, practices, principles, and justice processes. Special co-host Jessi Benveniste joins Keith Edwards in conversation with Drs. Léna Crain, Desirée Anderson, Patience Bryant, and Valerie Glassman. They discuss restorative approaches to community development, the critical roles of both accountability and grace, and the complexities of restorative justice's history and implementation.

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As we launch the fall semester, student activists will once again—as they have for decades—resume their work to address climate on campus as related to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and other forms of oppression. In this episode, co-authors of the book, Identity-Based Student Activism: Power and Oppression on College Campuses, discuss ways that campus administrators can reflect upon our work with student activists and consider new ways to improve relationships, resulting in more hospitable campus climates for all students across identities.

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Dr. Keith Edwards discusses the new book, Reframing Assessment to Center Equity with four contributors; Drs. Gavin Henning, Divya Bheda, Joe Levy, and Ciji Heiser. They discuss the power of assessment to be more equitable as a process and to advance equity as a goal in higher education. Today's guests offer insights and reframing as well as tools, strategies, and tangible ways to examine power, privilege, and positionality to advance equity.

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Dr. Glenn DeGuzman sits down with Dr. Kehaulani Vaughn, Dr. Leilani Kupo, and Sefa Aina to talk story about the Pacific Islander student experience and the obstacles and challenges facing this often overlooked student population.

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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.

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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.

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The Proud & Thriving Framework, a collaboration between the Jed Foundation and the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, was designed to equip administrators and stakeholders with the information and resources they need to strengthen campus support for LGBTQ+ college students. In this episode, Dr. Heather Shea connects with Dr. Sofia Pertuz, Jesse Beal, and Chris Woods to discuss recommendations for creating affirming and supportive environments for LGBTQ+ students with the aim of achieving better mental health outcomes.

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First generation students are the first in their families to attend college. How has the needs of this student population evolved over the last decade? Listen in as Dr. Glenn DeGuzman sits down with Dr. Robert Longwell-Grice, Dr. Rashné Jehangir, and Dr. La’Tonya Rease Miles to discuss this topic, the latest research, and explore what campuses can do to support this vulnerable population.

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They were first generation students and then first generation higher education professionals. Dr. Glenn DeGuzman sits down with Dr. Juan Guardia, Dr. Ray Gasser, and Dr. Daisy Rodriguez and talk about how their experiences as first generation professionals and how their lived experiences have impacted their career journey and professional identity in higher education. These educators also share some advice on how we can best support first generation Student Affairs professionals and practitioners.

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