Restorative practices can serve as a proactive approach to address behavior in a way that not only repairs harm and restores relationships, but also creates stronger communities. Using a circle-style conversation to elicit our perceptions of the potential of these practices to support and advance liberatory principles, we sought to uncover the…

The minoritized identities of many resident assistants are rarely a topic of studies that evaluate their campus experiences, yet these identities are crucial in making these experiences positive. This qualitative research study helps fill this gap in the literature by reporting the experiences of 21 resident assistants with minoritized identities…

In this chapter, authors discuss university housing learning communities focused on social justice principles. Authors provide diverse approaches and resources for implementing social justice learning communities.

Using scholarly personal narratives as a research tool, we explored how the director of an LGBTQ+ living-learning program (LLP) created community within the constructs of an otherwise cis- and heteronormative residential environment. We reviewed the first author's reflections about community experiences and analyzed them for opportunities to upend…

This chapter provides an overview of social justice as both process and outcome. It introduces a working definition for social justice that is equity-focused rather than deficit-focused. This first chapter sets a foundation for examining social justice practices in the context of university housing programs.

For decades, the student affairs field has viewed supervision as a vital function of many professional roles for which staff rarely receive intentional training. While there is limited scholarship outlining what effective supervision should entail, the frameworks available to intentionally guide supervisory skill development is sparse. The…

This chapter shares reflections from two university housing administrators on using dialogic practices to build skills for addressing issues of social justice and equity that surface in residential community living settings.

In this dissertation, I explored how residence life professionals are teaching social justice. Using critically informed qualitative methods, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 student affairs professionals who are responsible for ongoing social justice-oriented initiatives in residence life. I also analyzed documents associated with…

Exemplifying the unwritten curriculum of working in higher education, LGBTQ+ professionals in housing and residence life do not receive a manual on what to anticipate in their professional roles regarding the consideration of their identities within a new institutional culture. Many professionals enter housing and residence life as their entry…

There's been no shortage of suggestions for how to save the many small colleges that dot the landscape, especially in New England. Susan Dynarski, a well-respected professor who regularly comments insightfully on issues in higher education, suggested that perhaps the only places where COVID safety and education can coexist are rural small college…

This paper investigated homelessness and housing insecurity on college campuses in the United States. Using a mix design and framed by the theoretical frameworks of resiliency and social justice theories, this research sought to assess the barriers and interventions, if any, for students encountering homelessness while in college. The data…

Institutional policies and student affairs services benefit lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* and queer (LGBTQ+) students by offering affirming campus spaces and organizational markers that influence student success (Pitcher, Camacho, Renn, & Woodford, 2018). (See Tompkins, 2014 for explanation of the use of the term trans*.) Policies and student…

Gender inclusive housing (GIH) is a recent policy development designed to enable greater inclusion of students of all genders in residential housing (Garvey, Chang, Nicolazzo, & Jackson, 2018; Taub, Johnson, & Reynolds, 2016). Student affairs practitioners (SAPs) play important roles advocating for improved policies and procedures on…

Colleges and universities commonly review the criminal history of students who apply to live in campus housing, but this practice may be inherently discriminatory. New guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development warns that the Fair Housing act, which applies to higher education institutions, prohibits the use of any practice…

In the last twenty years a body of "social justice educators" has come to power in American higher education. These professors and administrators are transforming higher education into advocacy for progressive politics. They also work to reserve higher education jobs for social justice advocates, and to train more social justice…