Varying Viewpoints

In this episode, Visiting Scholar Tanishia Williams spoke with Aaron Griffen and Angel Jones, two critical race theory (CRT) scholars. Throughout the episode, Tanishia, Aaron, and Angel, with the help of founding CRT scholars, provide a definition of CRT, an explanation of the role CRT plays in education, and a recourse to debunk myths about CRT.

In this episode, Hunter Hornsby, one of our research interns, invited Gavin Steiger, Director of Disability Services at Texas State University, to join us. They unpack what it means to have a disability and how to ensure proper accommodations at higher education institutions. Gavin shares his personal experience with disability and how this has influenced his work on accessibility at colleges and universities. Hunter and Gavin emphasize the importance of mental and physical disability accommodations and eliminating unintentional barriers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, for overall student success in higher education.

In this episode, Leah Hollis, Visiting Scholar at the Proctor Institute, hosted an interview with Joseph Angel de Soto, STEM Professor at Diné College, a tribal college in Tsaile, Arizona. Joseph shared that he decided to teach in the Southwest at a tribal college because he saw it as an opportunity to work with individuals with a similar culture to the culture he grew up around. He also discusses how tribal law is a major part of tribal college culture, and how Diné operates within the Navajo concepts of thinking, planning, living, and assuring when it comes to decision making. Joseph also examines how “white laws” often criminalizes the culture of other people.

In this episode, Bianca Neal, Visiting Scholar at the Proctor Institute, hosted an interview with Aida Isela Ramos, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. In an effort to offer guidance for Latinas navigating academia and the professoriate, Aida talks about her academic experiences growing up in harsh educational environments as well as the challenges, the struggles, and the beauty that were all associated with her journey. Being a daughter of Mexican immigrants living on the border of Mexico in El Paso, Texas, Aida shares the steps she took to build confidence to dive deeper into her academic journey and discusses how important it is to never give in to the stereotypical culture of academia.

In this episode, Leah Hollis, one of our fabulous visiting scholars and Associate Professor at Morgan State University, invited Joseph Drew, a professor at the University of Maryland Global Campus and a former professor at the University of District of Columbia, to join us. They unpack what it means to be a Jewish scholar at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) and the general relationship between Jewish people and African American people. Joseph highlights his experience growing up during the Civil Rights Movement and how this shaped him into the person he is today. Additionally, Joseph notes the inherent similarities between Black and Jewish culture that has made HBCUs a safe and nondiscriminatory space for Jewish scholars.

In this episode, we invited Frederick Shegog, founder of The Message, LLC and notable keynote speaker, to join us. During the interview, Frederick talks about how his challenging, yet eye-opening experiences inspired him to become the leader he is today. He shares how important it is to empower communities and encourage self-awareness in students who often experience self-doubt. Frederick speaks about how crucial it is to obtain effective mentorship in college professors who encourage your growth and help to increase your network. He also shares how essential it is to practice meditation, surround yourself with positive people, exercise, and have a healthy diet. One of his greatest takeaways for students is to focus on mental, physical, and emotional health just as much as academic studies and graduation requirements.

In this episode, we invited Sarah Todd, social work professor and the director of Carleton University’s School of Social Work to join us and interview with our Communications Intern, Sharaya Morrison. Sarah’s background includes research in many areas related to social work and community practice. She touched on how broad social work in communities can be and further discusses what whiteness and privilege look like in marginalized communities. Sarah also shares how important it is for white people to take full advantage of their privilege by using it to advocate for economically disadvantaged communities.

In this episode, we invited Michael Hicks, assistant professor of education at Centenary College of Louisiana, to join us. Michael talks to us about his role as an educator of future educators and how he teaches leadership techniques. He created the “Teach, Speak, Create” model in an effort to inspire himself and others to be effective leaders, especially through the lenses of diversity, inclusion, and equity in K-12 and higher education. Michael concludes with a discussion about the experiences and the values that continue to propel him to be authentic, to champion fairness, and to advocate for justice.

In this episode, we invited Karen Gross, a consultant to non-profit schools, organizations, and governments, to join us. Karen’s work focuses on strategies for vulnerable student success across the K-20 pipeline, with a focus on the impact of trauma on educational outcomes. A frequent author, speaker, and commentator on issues in education, she is the author of the newly released, award-winning book Trauma Doesn’t Stop at the School Door, where she addresses the omnipresence of trauma in education. Throughout this episode, Karen takes us through theories of trauma and highlights some of the tools and strategies to combat trauma for students and educators alike.

In this episode, we invited Yolanda Wiggins, an assistant professor of sociology at San Jose State University, to join us. Yolanda highlights her research on educational inequality and explores the role that families play in students' feelings of inclusion at higher education institutions. Additionally, Yolanda digs deeper into how diversity initiatives are often surface-level interventions that don't solve students' problems and her recommendations for how to mitigate this issue on college campuses. She mentions how Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) can learn from Historically Black Colleges and Universities' (HBCUs) models for student support, among other propositions, to help students of color succeed. Yolanda also notes how this moment of political uprising will, hopefully, change how higher education institutions address racial equity and justice.