Student Affairs NOW

Drs. Laila McCloud, Ericka Roland, Quortne Hutchings, and Ricardo Montelongo recently led the ACPA Faculty Racial Justice and Decolonization Institute. In this episode they reflect on the Institute experience and discuss love and wandering as pedagogy, freedom dreaming, ungrading, moving from docile bodies to critical spectators, and more.

Dr. Allison Vaillancourt is a higher ed leader, human resources expert, and a regular contributes thoughtful pieces to The Chronicle of Higher Education. In this conversation, she shares wisdom and insights on keeping things in perspective; organizing, structuring, and leading meetings; and reflecting on drains on our time, energy, and joy. This conversation is full of helpful invitations to reflect on and strategies to implement.

Dr. Keith Edwards talks with Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, author of Trauma Stewardship and The Age of Overwhelm, about how to navigate the challenging experiences and systems that we experience directly and vicariously as an individual, as communities, and organizationally. This conversation discusses Buddhism and neuroscience, self-awareness and self-management, and community care and sustainability. They also discuss the importance of creating organizations that are honest, realistic, allow space for emotional processing, and are strategic about rethinking how to move forward.

This episode was originally published on April 26, 2022.

Join editors of the book Critical Whiteness Praxis in Higher Education, Drs. Zak Foste and Tenisha Tevis as they discuss theoretical and practical approaches to critical whiteness in higher education. They outline theoretical foundations of structural and systemic whiteness, including white normativity, ignorance, and innocence. They also discuss the effects on students, staff, and faculty in higher education and what we can do to move toward practical applications within higher education institutions and functional areas.

In this podcast episode, we dive into the complexities of college student success with the author of Administratively Adrift: Overcoming Institutional Barriers for College Student Success Dr. Scott Bass and Dr. Sharon Alston, former co-chair of American University’s “Re-Inventing the Student Experience” or RiSE project. Exploring common barriers, effective strategies, and the roles of students, administrators, and policymakers, we gain valuable insights on how to overcome institutional hurdles and create a supportive environment that fosters student success.

As resident and student staff needs have expanded, many housing and residence life leaders are rethinking the traditional resident assistant (RA) role. Drs. Paul Gordon Brown, Heather Kropf, and Glenn DeGuzman discuss shifting needs, explore possibilities, and share promising approaches and concerns. Join these three leaders, innovators, and changemakers for this exciting conversation.

Thanks to ACPA, we are able share our own Heather Shea’s presidential address as she assumed leadership of ACPA: College Student Educators International. Heather focuses on fostering critical hope for ourselves as student affairs educators and for students. You’ll also get to hear Kathy Adam Reister and me introducing Heather to the association membership.

In this episode, we delve into the realm of performance reviews in student affairs, exploring how these evaluations are conducted and how we might rethink this process. We discuss the influence of the recent Report on 21st Century Employment in Higher Education and other resources for shaping the approach to performance reviews, highlighting the specific recommendations implemented to foster a fair, supportive, and developmental processes.

Labor acknowledgments are similar and different from land acknowledgments. In this conversation, three scholar-practitioners discuss the purpose, history, practice, and complexities around labor acknowledgments, including moving beyond just acknowledgments to commitments. They discuss anti-Blacknewss, capitalism, ascendants, history and contemporary labor, and the diaspora of Blackness. Guests offer tangible commitments that could be made around labor related to recognition, ethical leadership, and resources.