Recruiting and Supporting Student Affairs Professionals of Color: Challenges & Opportunities
Duration: 1 hour
Facilitator: Dr. Aaron Hughey
Price: $50.00
“There continues to be a gap between the growing multicultural student body and predominantly White faculty and staff members who work with students. One factor in increasing the likelihood of persistence in college for minoritized students is the presence of a mentor with a similar ethnic background.” – Tiffany Lorraine Steele
Overview:
Diversity matters in higher education. The entire campus community benefits when faculty, administrators, and student affairs professionals of color are recruited and retained. The students – especially students of color - who attend the institution benefit by their presence, as does the entire academic community. However, many student affairs professionals of color do not seem to be able to reach their full potential at many colleges and universities. This is a huge problem that will only get worse in the coming decades if not addressed purposefully and conscientiously. As our society continue to become more diverse, it is imperative that our profession reflects this reality.
This webinar will provide evidence-based best practices that can be used to help student affairs professionals of color successfully adjust to their new positions in the academy and stay on a productive path toward a long and distinguished career. A huge part of this process involves mentoring and coaching these individuals in not only their respective areas of expertise, but also educating them as to the social mores and political minefields than can characterize higher education. Concrete strategies for retaining and supporting student affairs professionals of color will be presented, together with case studies showing some of the pitfalls that can characterize the process.
Outline:
- Diversity in Student Affairs: The Current Situation
- Reaching Their Full Potential: Why or Why Not
- Institutional Culture: The Key to Recruitment and Retention
- The Importance of Leadership
- Evidence-Based Best Practices: What Works, What Doesn’t
- Cases Studies and Examples from the Real World
Learning outcomes:
Participants in the webinar will:
- Review the current situation with respect to student affairs professionals of color on the contemporary college campus.
- Explore the reasons many student affairs professionals of color do not reach their full potential at many institutions
- Consider the role of institutional culture in the recruitment and retention of student affairs professionals of color
- Investigate the role of leadership in meeting the needs of student affairs professionals of color
- Explore evidence-based best practices in the recruitment and retention of student affairs professionals of color
- Critique real-life examples and case studies of effective and ineffective ways of interacting with student affairs professionals of color
Who should attend:
Student affairs professionals at all levels, especially those interested in enhancing and sustaining diversity in the division of student affairs at their respective institutions.
Presenter:
Dr. Aaron W. Hughey is a Professor in the Department of Counseling and Student Affairs at Western Kentucky University, where he oversees the graduate degree program in Student Affairs in Higher Education. Before joining the faculty in 1991, he spent 10 years in progressive administrative positions, including five years as the Associate Director of University Housing at WKU. He was also head of the department of Counseling and Student Affairs for five years before returning to the faculty full-time in 2008. Dr. Hughey has degrees from the University of Tennessee at Martin, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Western Kentucky University, and Northern Illinois University. The winner of the President’s Award for Diversity at Western Kentucky University in 2012, Dr. Hughey has authored (or co-authored) over 70 refereed publications on a wide range of issues including leadership and student development, standardized testing, diversity, legal issues (including compliance), technology, and educational administration. He regularly presents at national and international conferences and consults extensively with companies and schools. He also provides training and professional development programs on a variety of topics centered on diversity and its relation to student success.