The concepts of scholarship of teaching and learning and the scholarship of practice are relatively new; therefore, their value within student affairs and institutions of higher education may be questioned. Unfamiliarity with these activities may also impede student affairs graduate faculty and scholar-practitioners from engaging in this work. In…

Student affairs professionals in four-year universities are increasingly reporting feeling overwhelmed, stressed, job dissatisfaction, and potential burnout, resulting in decisions to leave their positions. High rates of turnover in these institutions may hinder the effective management of student affairs departments. The majority of studies on…

The ever-changing landscape of higher education presents enrollment management (EM) professionals with challenges related to workload, staff morale, conflicting values, staff turnover, and student satisfaction. As higher education confronts the reality of today's enrollment climate, it is time to consider how organizational cultures impact staff…

One of the most challenging times for campus communities is when a crisis occurs. It often causes higher education to question their policies, missions, and values. Additionally, the crisis managers and those affected by it may experience trauma as they navigate the crisis (Bataille & Cordova, 2014; Lynch 2023). Despite the research on crisis…

This study develops and validates a model explaining how the organizational and human resources, advising and supporting, and personal and ethical foundations competencies influence leadership in student affairs. The most notable finding from this study is the overlooked and powerful influence of advising and supporting upon leadership. The…

The increase in mental health concerns of higher education employees in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused mid-level higher education administrators to reconsider their approaches to wellness and self-care. The purpose of this study was to explore specifically how mid-level student affairs administrators perceive and approach…

This dissertation offers an ethnographic exploration of higher education sexual violence prevention initiatives through the perspectives of professional staff whose mission is to counter what many call a pandemic of sexual violence. Central to my examination are the emic theories and language ideologies underlying prevention professionals'…

Capitalism shapes all aspects of Americans' lives, particularly in their work lives. The nature of the Coronavirus-19 Pandemic changed the foundational model of the common workplace, which had been relatively unimpacted since the late 1920s. These changes have influenced many workers to reexamine their professional lives, thus leading to what has…

Many postsecondary students in the United States exist at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities, such as race, socioeconomic status, (dis)ability, and legal status. Amidst a tumultuous sociopolitical context, a number of higher education institutions in the United States established Undocumented Student Resource Centers (USRCs),…

Anti-Blackness in the academy has the potential to negatively impact relationships between Black Women, which can ultimately influence Black women's retention and career advancement. Through an analysis of existing theories, including workplace friendships, Black feminist thought, and critical race theory, the authors first interrogate how…

Spiritual perspectives in organizational theory are relatively recent approaches to understanding the behaviors of complex organizations. Emerging in the 1990s, the literature on modern organizations, especially in the United States, saw a rise in individuals questioning if they could find meaning and purpose in their work. This study investigated…

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the traditional new professional experience in student affairs, a field with a significant attrition rate in the first five years of service (Marshall et al., 2016). This qualitative case study analyzed data from semi-structured interviews alongside existing literature to uncover how the pandemic impacted Generation…

"Cancel culture" can be used in punitive ways to withdraw financial or intellectual support from those whose perspectives are deemed offensive. Some suggest disengaging from authors, artists, donors, institutional founders, and others whose histories and perspectives are problematic. However, what do student affairs professionals do…

In writings on humanizing pedagogy, the concept of love is often presented as the core principle grounding all action. However, love, as it is currently conceptualized, leaves much room for interpretation (hooks, 2000; Levinas, 1998; Matias & Allen, 2013). Therefore, it is critical as educators and Student Affairs professionals we challenge…

The influence of whiteness on campus spaces is perhaps unsurprising, given that student affairs professionals (SAPs) often normalize ideologies and practices around whiteness (Cabrera et al., 2016, 2017). Whiteness is often demonstrated in how SAPs advocate (or not) for Students of Color and respond to racialized incidents that occur all too often…