Varying Viewpoints

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, we invited Ahira Smith, Grief Coach and Speaker, Founder of From Grief to Life, LLC. Ahira shares her background on becoming a grief coach and how her work differs from therapy, as grief coaches focus on the present rather than going backward. Ahira highlights that grief is more than someone who passed away; it is a relationship with a person, place, thing, or experience. She discusses the different stages and types of grief: anticipatory grief, complicated, and disenfranchised. She describes how you must permit yourself to grieve and be aware of the support system around you. She concludes by discussing that we all grieve differently and that there is always joy at the end of the tunnel. Although grief is challenging, this open and transparent conversation with Ahira emphasizes that the greatness in grief stems from the lessons you gain from it.

In this episode of the "Varying Viewpoints" podcast series, host Alice Ginsberg, Associate Director for Research and Grant Development, talked with Natalie Passov, the Assistant Director of Communication and Research at the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions. Natalie discusses best practices for MSIs for advertising and promoting registered apprenticeship programs to students. She emphasizes the importance of creating clear and accessible web pages that explain what registered apprenticeships are, the benefits they offer students, and how to apply. Natalie also recommends using multiple marketing channels, such as social media, information sessions, academic advising, and career fairs to raise awareness of these programs. Additionally, she highlights the value of featuring testimonials from apprenticeship program alumni and partner employers. These real-world perspectives can be very compelling for prospective students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds who may not have considered these types of career-connected learning opportunities before.

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, we invited Leah Lattimore, Forté’s Director of Undergraduate Programs. Leah shares her work with Forté Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to women, providing access to business education, career development, and more. Leah highlights their Undergraduate Woman of Color leadership symposium, an in-person conference with panels and skill-building workshops that deliver students tangible takeaways and connections. She discusses the numerous barriers for college and professional women, and how Forté aims to address them. Leah concludes by discussing the organization's goals for the next 20 years, emphasizing its commitment to developing a strong pipeline of women for business leadership. While acknowledging the challenges ahead, she encourages women to trust in themselves and make use of the resources available to them.

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast, two of our Visiting Scholars, Joanna Jenkins – consultant and affiliate professor at St. Joseph’s University – and Natascha Saunders – certified career coach – discuss the importance of equity in career coaching. Joanna and Natascha take us through the challenges faced by young people, including family expectations and lack of support. Throughout the episode, they emphasize the need to teach students how to build and leverage their cultural capital using existing relationships, passions, and resources. They conclude that the future needs inclusive leadership, active listening, and optimism to drive problem-solving in the modern workplace.

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, two university presidents, St. Edward's University President Montserrat Fuentes and Huston-Tillotson University President and CEO Melva K. Wallace, share about their ongoing collaboration as university leaders and as close friends. When faced with a university housing crisis, Montserrat and Melva came together and partnered to address the issue. They talk about the power of collaboration and how they continue to work on uplifting their institutions and the entire community alike.

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, we invited John Silvanus Wilson Jr., author of Hope and Healing: Black Colleges and the Future of American Democracy and Visiting Lecturer at Morgan State University. John shares his background and higher education – having attended both Morehouse College and Harvard University. John emphasizes the need for higher education institutions to maximize and leverage both capital and character. He calls for a collective effort to save American Democracy, and segments this task into three parts: the Democracy Legacy, the Endowment Legacy, and the Encore Imperative. His core message emphasizes academic freedom, educational reform, and societal progress, highlighting the transformative potential of higher education exemplified by the HBCU tradition.

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, Anna-Kaye C. Rowe, the Assistant Director for Career and Employer Engagement at Ohio University invited Hayley Haywood, an equity-centered Solutionist & Identity-Conscious Coach to explore issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in career development and the need for identity-conscious career planning in higher education. Anna-Kaye and Hayley dive into the research and value behind having representation, accountability, a sense of belonging, and measures to enhance retention and success in the workplace. Anna-Kaye and Hayley highlight the importance of equity-centered career design in higher education and discuss ways to prepare and support student populations as they transition into the global workforce.

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, we invited Paul LeMahieu, Senior Advisor to the President at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Marisol Morales, Executive Director of the Carnegie Elective Classifications (CEC) at the American Council on Education to explore the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement and its impact on community engagement in higher education. Paul and Marisol uncover the origins of the CEC and touch on their significance within higher education. They take us through the Community Engagement Elective’s longevity, how the elective can bring institutional transformation, as well as the future of the elective classifications – including the development of an Indigenous Serving classification. Paul and Marisol emphasize the importance of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) participating in the process and the various benefits it can bring to these institutions.

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, one of our Visiting Scholars, consultant, and affiliate professor at St. Joseph’s University Joanna L. Jenkins, discusses her new book Insecure, Awkward and #Winning. Her book offers a fertile space to investigate how contemporary issues intersect, encouraging audiences to contemplate meaning and impact within their own lives, society, and cultural identities. Joanna emphasizes the importance of research, work and publications created from the perspective of historically excluded communities and how representation matters.

In this episode of the Varying Viewpoints podcast series, one of our John Smartt Summer Scholars, Morgan Beatty hosted an episode with Timothy Fong, an Ethnic Studies professor at California State University, Sacramento and Director and Principal Investigator of the Full Circle Project. They discuss the influence of research and teaching universities alike. With research universities focusing on research, and teaching universities focusing on teaching undergraduate students, graduate students are then left underserved with inaccessible resources at comprehensive and teaching institutions. This episode covers the differences between these institutions and offers solutions to increase student success and sense of self belonging for first-generation graduate students at comprehensive and/or teaching institutions.