Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Kaleigh Mrowka, Ph.D., to the Restorative Works! Podcast.

Kaleigh speaks to us about the status of higher education as we continue to move forward through the pandemic and examining the disconnect between students and faculty, faculty and administration, and students with fellow students. She challenges fellow members of higher education community to reimagine the traditionally rigid concepts of the institution and to start to think of ways to co-create with students and others in the higher education sphere using restorative practice methodologies. Pushing back on staunch individualism that leads to loneliness, an epidemic in the US right now, leads to an increased sense of belonging and more equitable spaces in higher education.

Kaleigh currently serves as Associate Director for the IIRP's forthcoming Collaborative Center for Restorative Practices in Higher Education. She holds a B.A. in Speech Communication from Ithaca College, an M.S. in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration from SUNY, Buffalo State, and a Ph.D. in Language Literacy and Culture from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her professional and research interests center around the development and maintenance of healthy and equitable communities through the use of restorative practices, relational research methodologies, integrative learning, and intergroup dialogue, she has presented regionally and nationally on living learning programs and the integration of restorative practices into residential communities within higher education.

Tune in to learn more about Kaleigh's work and keep your eyes open for more information about the forthcoming Collaborative Center for Restorative Practices in Higher Education, a hub for research, collaboration, peer support, and much more.