Category: Blog

Developing Social Justice Training for Student Staff: One Administrator’s Experience

by Tammi Kohl Kennedy (opens in new tab)

As the administrator of a one-person office at a small, private, liberal arts university, I rely heavily on my teams of student staff. Together we provide academic support for just over 2,000 undergraduate students and 200 graduate students through several targeted programs that lead to increased success and retention. Training my student staff is a vital part of our programs’ and our students’ success. To build my teams’ foundational knowledge around enhancing cognitive function as it relates to academic success, I developed a training program centered on evidence-based approaches to effective learning strategies. Leaning on scientific research and data lends credibility and relevance to the work we do. By helping students understand why strategies are effective and working with them to develop individually tailored approaches they can use now around their busy schedules, students begin to see my teams as legitimate and qualified resources as they start to realize improved success through their evolving approach to learning. Connecting our work to social justice Core-shaking events in the spring and summer of 2020 demanded a voice in this year’s training. As I reviewed materials to prepare my student staff of 40 for our work ahead, it became clear we would need […]

“DECLINED” Can my proposal be revived?

by Rick Nader (opens in new tab)

Why do so many grant proposals get rejected? Funding rates hover at about 20% across all federal agencies: the competition is fierce. For new faculty who are inexperienced, their chances of getting funded are more like 10-15%. This is due in part to PI inexperience with proposal writing and/or interpreting review comments and constructively utilizing feedback. However, to shelve the proposal without considering the reasons why it was rejected—and if there are subsequent opportunities to improve and resubmit it—is a mistake: the worst thing faculty can do is to never try again. At many funding agencies (like the NSF), it takes somewhere between 2-3 submissions on average before a PI’s first award decision. So, it’s wise as a faculty member to think of the declined proposal as “declined for now” rather than “declined forever.” In this article, I offer a handful of tips that will help you a) interpret your reviews, b) use your critiques to understand the cause(s) for the declination, and c) make an evidence-based decision about whether and how to revise and resubmit. Reviewing your declined proposal: What to look for? Review your ratings carefully. The first question you should ask yourself is, what were your ratings? Can […]

Academic Entrepreneurship: Managing your academic program portfolio in times of disruption

by Melissa Morriss-Olson, Ph.D. (opens in new tab)

We recently sat down with Dr. Melissa Morriss-Olson, former Provost at Bay Path University, to discuss her recently-released book “Academic Entrepreneurship: The Art and Science of Creating the Right Academic Programs.” The following interview—which contains myriad practical suggestions for academic leaders looking to think creatively to move their divisions and institutions forward—is what materialized.*role=”document”, aria-multiline=”true”, aria-readonly=”false”**aria-label=”Block: Paragraph”* 1. What inspired you to write your new book about academic entrepreneurship? Academic Entrepreneurship is the guidebook I wish I’d had when I started out in higher education many years ago.  Most academic leaders come to their roles without experience in entrepreneurial leadership.  Nor do most of us have any training in how to strategically manage and leverage our institution’s academic resources. And yet, helping our institutions do well and thrive in this current environment means that academic leaders need to think and act differently than our predecessors did even a few years ago. Today, most of our colleges and universities are facing unprecedented levels of disruption—and this was before the coronovirus pandemic took hold!  The pandemic has accelerated the change that was already underway. From the research I have conducted over the course of my career about successful college management practices, one […]

Six Months In: Leadership Lessons Gleaned from the COVID Crisis

by Mary Hinton (opens in new tab)

Introduction Six months ago, I wrote a piece about what I had learned as a university president in the early days of the pandemic. We were less than 30 days into the national shutdown. It was hard to imagine that the pandemic, and our lives on campus, would evolve as they have. The subsequent surfacing of long-unaddressed issues of injustice and the necessary outcry for the dismantling of racist systems further compounded the challenges – and accelerated learning – during this time. Today I found myself wondering what I have learned since April. As I reflect on those five early lessons, all of them continue to feel relevant. Community, and intentional building of community, be it virtual or face-to-face, is still critical. Clarity about what matters (the mission!) remains relevant. Listening to and seeking others’ counsel continues to be an essential strategy as we sojourn on, and as public health needs shift along with the virus. And, daily, the gift of imperfection is a reminder of our humanity. Those five lessons remain, but the ensuing six months have taught me a great deal more and, I hope, made me a better person and leader. The lesson of connection Perhaps more […]

The Higher Education Business Model is Broken, But We Can’t Lose Sight of Why We Broke It, and Who We Needed to Break It For

by Mary Hinton (opens in new tab)

“The pandemic has forced us to confront higher education’s broken business model more directly. While we can no longer afford to be broken, the fundamental items that caused the problem are not resolved. The very thing that broke us – our missional focus on those who we must serve, though such service is not ‘profitable’ – is what sustains our communities during the pandemic. With a spine of steel and great will, we must reinvent ourselves in order to serve those who need us most.” by Mary Hinton, President, Hollins University “The economic model is broken.” “Your expenses are too high. “ “We can find all the answers through technology and you are no longer needed.” “There’s no real value to what you offer.” As a college president, I have heard these statements and the attendant negative narrative about higher education for far too long. At every opportunity, those of us in higher education are forced to articulate and provide concrete evidence of our value proposition: Again and again, we repeat our value. Having served on the board of a health system, I often heard the president respond to a similar narrative decrying the broken healthcare model, the questionable value […]

The Reopened Academic Library: Strategies for the Support and Safety of Students and Staff

by Daniel Fusch (opens in new tab)

“We’re already seeing … you tell someone to cover their nose with their mask and they roll their eyes at you. Our staff have a lot of anxiety. But we’re all in this together.” “We need students to physically distance and stay safe, and to wear masks, but the academic library is not set up to be, and doesn’t need to be, the ‘COVID police’; what do we do?” by Daniel Fusch, Academic Impressions In mid-August, we held a four-hour virtual workshop in which academic library leaders from across North America convened to share challenges and strategies as they prepare for the fall. Amid all the uncertainty and unpredictability, one thing is clear: For many institutions, the academic library – long core to both the academic and social life of the campus – is only going to be more critical this fall. This is the case both for institutions that have a reopened physical campus and for institutions that are primarily virtual, at which the academic library may be one of the few sites on campus that remains open to the campus community. Our virtual workshops are unique in providing a space where participants can connect with their peers and leading […]

Is It a Microaggression?

by Myron R. Anderson, Ph.D. (opens in new tab), Kathryn S. Young (opens in new tab)

Is it a microaggression? The authors of Fix Your Climate, two leading experts on hierarchical microaggressions, discuss how microaggressions operate within an academic workplace and offer a few quick tips for identifying and reducing them. Microaggressions, microbullying, and bullying are the silent destroyers of a university’s climate. Because microaggressions have a cumulative and amplifying effect (an organizational culture rife with microaggressive behavior becomes a fertile ground for microbullying behaviors), it is crucial to both educate your departmental or institutional culture about microaggressions and help your faculty and staff understand what they are, what they are not, and how they work. Identifying a microaggression Let’s look at two quick scenarios. SCENARIO A A white, male assistant professor says to a colleague, “Someone mistook me for a security guard.” I ask, “How did that make you feel?” He responds, “Fine. It was funny.” Is this a microaggression? Probably not. His feelings weren’t hurt. The incident did not relate to an aspect of his identity. No microaggression. SCENARIO B If you change the race of the individual in the same scenario, the outcome of the scenario might also change. An African-American, male, assistant professor says, “Someone mistook me for a security guard.” A […]

Showing Care, Community, and Service Excellence on Campus During a Pandemic

by Heath Boice-Pardee (opens in new tab)

Our care for students in the fall must be expressed, paradoxically, both by the barriers that we put in place to separate our community and by the measures we take to keep our community connected and welcome. Here are examples of service excellence, hospitality, and care from other sectors that can translate well on our campuses. by Dr. Heath Boice-Pardee, Head of Practice for Service Excellence, and co-author of Elevating Customer Service in Higher Education: A Practical Guide As campuses reopen or partially reopen and then continue to adjust throughout the fall, it is paramount that we think carefully about how to provide excellent service to students while social distancing, and about how to show visible and meaningful care for the health and safety of the campus community. While in the past care could be expressed by smiles, handshakes, and even hugs, times have changed. Care must now be expressed by promoting safety measures that have been newly created and implemented. We will all be critiqued on: This is an unprecedented situation, in which our care for students in the fall must be expressed, paradoxically, both by the barriers that we put in place to separate our community and by […]

You Were Just Named Interim. Now What?

by Ashlyn W. Sowell (opens in new tab)

Being named the interim leader in your unit or department can be both exciting and scary.  Unfortunately, there are not many road maps out there to guide you. Here is some guidance from others who’ve been there. by Ashlyn W. Sowell, Associate Vice President for Campaign Operations and Engagement, Johns Hopkins University In this time of a global pandemic, high unemployment, and financial pressures, it is likely that more people in advancement will be named to interim roles and likely for longer time periods.  Perhaps some guidance would be useful from a few of us who have been there: Here is what we have to share. Accepting and Adapting to the Role You might have a range of emotions when asked to take on a new interim role – surprised, flattered, and maybe a bit nervous. The first piece of advice Rachel gave was to say yes! A leader in your institution has asked you to step up, and they probably vetted your name well in advance. This could be a great opportunity for you to learn, lead, and grow. Aristide agreed, saying, “Never turn down an assignment.” Think about the portfolio of work and where this might lead you […]

Forecasting the Fall: Calamity or Opportunity?

by Forecasting the Fall: Calamity or Opportunity? (opens in new tab)

In these rough waters, higher education leaders cannot indulge the luxury of sitting back and waiting to see what everyone else does. Whatever happens with the pandemic or the economy, we are not going to see a simple “return to normal” or to the conditions under which our institutions operated in January, and leaders must take decisive action if they are to position their institutions for a changing future. by John King, Ed.D., strategic consultant, recently interim provost at the College of Western Idaho Higher education finds itself at a tipping point where leaders must make decisions about how to respond to today’s chaotic world situation: Return operations as they were, or adjust to a changing world? As of this writing, COVID-19 has infected over two million Americans, that we know of. Experts are saying that we are at the front end of this pandemic curve as opposed to its end. We are also experiencing an economic downturn that has caused massive unemployment and officially thrown the country into a recession. On top of all that, recent civilian deaths at the hands of police have led to nationwide protests over racial and social inequality and excessive police violence against minorities. […]

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