Black men often enter higher education spaces with two main disadvantages: being Black and Being male. As a result, their journey to earning a degree comes with several challenges, including maintaining their identity and finding that sense of belonging on many college campuses. However, the increase in diverse student bodies across multiple…

America's higher education system was not created with consideration to supporting Black students. Now, centuries later, the majority of Black students choose to attend predominantly White institutions (PWIs) and enroll at comparable rates to their White peers. However, Black students do not graduate at the same rate as White students, with only…

In spite of a swiftly growing AAPI undergraduate student population, higher education staff remain predominantly White with AAPIs significantly underrepresented within the field. The underrepresentation of AAPI professional staff is a problem not only because it may represent a lack of a career pipeline for AAPIs entering the workforce, but it…

This qualitative action research study aimed to identify an effective strategy that would improve the overall experience of Black students and their sense of belonging at a small predominantly white institution (PWI) in upstate New York. Participants and data collected in Cycle 1 revealed that Black students often perceived campus environments to…

The purpose of this study is to examine how LGBTQ+ resources, services, and experiences at colleges and universities shape students' sexual identity development experience. Relevant and relatable to the experience of students navigating their sexual identity development, research is conclusive in establishing positive links between students'…

This phenomenological study addressed the factors of an institutionalized peer to peer mentoring program that fostered academic success and persistence among Black male students graduating from a predominantly White four-year public university in Tennessee through the lens of the critical race theory. Data was gathered through face-to-face,…

This phenomenological study addressed the factors of an institutionalized peer to peer mentoring program that fostered academic success and persistence among Black male students graduating from a predominantly White four-year public university in Tennessee through the lens of the critical race theory. Data was gathered through face-to-face,…

The creation of the cisgender binary through the advent of settler colonialism in the land now known as the United States contributed to centuries of violence against and erasure of trans* communities. Structural oppression against trans*ness at a societal level contributes to similar modes of oppression in microcosms of society, including all…

Increased diversification of the collegiate student body has given rise to minority serving institutions with a significant growth of Hispanic Serving institutions and amplifies the need for greater institutional accountability to create focused efforts that facilitate college persistence and success of Latinx students. This qualitative study…

While nearly every group or constituency at an institution of higher education has an interest in fostering an ethical campus climate, senior student affairs officers (SSAOs') have often made efforts to analyze, interpret or strengthen the campus ethical climate. SSAOs are responsible for steering their campus settings in, and through, an…

Students with disabilities are an underrepresented demographic in higher education institutions that is often overlooked and excluded with limited engagement strategies. It is imperative for postsecondary institutions to actively foster a more inclusive and welcoming environment for this student group. Little is understood about the impact of…

Mainstream America needs a reorientation. Despite the focus portraying all Black Americans as living in inner-city poverty by mass media or social scientist, the African American middle-class is growing. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand African American middle-class graduating students on Historically White College…

This qualitative phenomenological research study dives into the varying experiences of Latinas who have earned an advanced degree in the United States, searching to understand the different elements that influence their degree attainment and challenges they faced during their academic journey. The researcher engaged in interviews with five Latinas…

This dissertation explores the integration of culturally responsive leadership (CRL) into the professional development of higher education academic professionals, with the goal of fostering critical consciousness, self-efficacy, and just praxis. Through an action research case study methodology, the study investigated the effectiveness of a CRL…

Black women undergraduate STEM students at Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) contend with difficult experiences in their academic majors (Charleston et al., 2014; Fletcher et al., 2017; Johnson, 2007; McGee & Bentley, 2017). Black women undergraduate STEM students are battling isolation, microaggressions, chilly climate, and other…